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A PILGRIM 
AND HIS PILGRIMAGE 



A PILGRIM 
AND HIS PILGRIMAGE 



BY 
G- W. HATCHER 



• We spend our years as a tale that is told." Ps 90:9 



Introduction by 
E. W. STEPHENS 



COLUMBIA, MISSOURI 

Published by the Author 

1916 



3X^5- 



Copyright 1916 
By G. W. HATCHER 



4i 



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SEP -7 1916 



^CI.A437595 



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3, 



DEDICATION 

This story of my life is dedicated to my wife, who 
has shared with me my burdens, my sorrows and my 
joys: whose influence over me and helpfulness to me 
by her faithfulness in all places and at all times 
has enabled me to do and be all that is recorded herein. 

The Author. 



INTRODUCTORY 

BY 

E. W. STEPHENS 

I do not remember to have read a story which 
more truly revealed the inner as well as tne outer life 
of the author than does the narrative in this volume. 
After one shall have looked upon his portrait upon 
the front page and shall have read the book he will 
understand the man almost as well as if he had en- 
joyed his personal acquaintance, as has the writer, for 
many years. 

The tale is more than vivid. It is pictorial, an un- 
reserved portrayal of a simple, active, earnest and 
consecrated life. This at last is the true art of author- 
ship, this revelation of the author to his readers. 

At the age of seventy years, after nearly fifty 
years in the gospel ministry, he presents an unvar- 
nished record of his experiences. The candor, the 
piquancy, the humor, the originality of the story are as 
striking as they are refreshing. He relates his failures 
with the same freedom and fullness that he does his 
successes, and through both runs a vein of humor 
and optimism that is delightful. 

6 



Introductory 7 

Many years ago a Missouri artist left upon im- 
perishable canvas a picture of the political life of his 
period. In this book the author, in terse and racy 
English, paints a word picture of the religious life of 
central Missouri scarcely less luminous. 

It is chiefly the story of a country preacher, for 
most of his ministerial career, like that of his Master, 
has been among country people. To this fact is large- 
ly due the naturalness of his style and thought. For 
nowhere is there a closer relation to nature as well as 
to nature's God than among those who worship their 
Creator amid scenes of rural simplicity and beauty 
and bounty, where He has manifested His goodness 
and love as He has nowhere else. Hence the story 
has the aroma of country life and the fragrance and 
freedom of rural scenes. 

He has occupied other fields. He has been vil- 
lage and town and city pastor as well, and in these 
varied stations he has attained success equally as signal 
as he did in the country. In every pastorate he was 
beloved by both the members of his church and of 
the community, he preached the unadulterated gospel, 
he did efficient and enlarging service and left of his 
own volition and with the respect and love of all with 
whom he had labored. 



8 Introductory 

He has been missionary as well as pastor, and in 
this difficult and important work among country 
churches has performed valuable and lasting service. 

His labors have extended beyond the pale of the 
ministry. He has been specially devoted to Christian 
education and his earnest and effective labors in this 
field are among the lasting memorials of his career. 

He has been intelligently loyal and efficient in 
all departments of his denominational work, and cour- 
ageously alert to every duty and responsibility as a 
citizen. 

In his social relations he will ever be remem- 
bered by his thousands of friends for his genial humor, 
his unfailing fidelity and his affable companionship. 

In all his relations in life, social, intellectual, re- 
ligious, he has been blessed by the faithful cooperation 
and wise counsel of the devoted woman who has stood 
ever by his side and who has so genuinely aided in 
rendering their pathway one of sunshine to all who 
have been drawn within it. It seems a pity that two 
such people should ever die. 

I feel sure had he known when he asked me to 
write this introductory that I would have improved 
the opportunity to pay this tribute, his modesty would 
have forbidden it. But what I have written I have 



Introductory 9 

written, for they are the words of truth and soberness, 
based upon a quarter of a century of intimate associa- 
tion with him. It is no more than just that they should 
be sent to the world to be known by all who read this 
story of his life. 

There is not a dull line in this book. It is enter- 
taining, and instructive from start to finish, a story 
which any intelligent student of Missouri history for 
the past half century will read with pleasure and 
profit. 

The finest feature of the book is that it is the story 
of an unselfish life. The preaching of nearly seven 
thousand sermons and the leading of over one 
thousand persons into the Kingdom of God is a record 
of love and a wealth of achievement beside which the 
accumulations of gold and earthly honors are as bau- 
bles. As such it is at once an object lesson and an in- 
spiration. In this narrative of a simple life, and 
its self-denial, devotion and happiness may be found 
by every thoughful reader a real solution of the prob- 
lem of success. 



PREFACE 

In writing this book I have no desire or ambition to 
enrich the world's literature. Hence, this production 
will not appeal to the readers of magazines or the 
lovers of romance. I claim for it no literary merit, 
and do not expect, in this busy age, that it will be 
sought after or read beyond the small circle of men 
and women, some of whom have known me all my 
life, while others have known me for nearly a half 
century. 

It has occurred to me that the story of my life as 
told by myself would, in a measure, be interesting to 
many whose life has touched and enriched my own. 
Many of these have gone to their reward, but their 
children, and in some cases their grand-children, re- 
main and they will read with pleasure what is said in 
this book of the persons and places so sacred to their 
memory. 

While the greater part of the story deals with that 
part of my life devoted to the ministry and particularly 
to the pastorate, I have spoken of my ancestry and 
my early life in order to give completeness to it. 

Hoping that it may gladden some sad heart, stimu- 
late — encourage some despondent soul and enrich 
some impoverished life, I now with much fear and 
trembling send upon its mission, this the first and only 
book that I have ever written. 

The Author. 

(10) 



CHAPTER I 

Ancestry, Birth and Boyhood 

I was born in Kentucky and have never gotten over 
it. I still think that to be the best place on earth in 
which to be born and am sorry for those who were so 
unfortunate as not to have that good start. But I do 
not go as far as Virginians do, for, as Dr. P. S. Hen- 
son has said, some of them think because they were 
born in Virginia they do not need to be "born again." 

I was born in Green County on Green River, near 
Greensburg, among the green briers on the fifth day 
of August, 1846. The verdure, associated with my 
early environment and the verdure in my mental make- 
up may have suggested to the naming- committee the 
appropriateness of my first name — Green. 

Rev. Sam Frank Taylor takes some liberties with 
my name and calls me, "Verdant Incubator," and jus- 
tifies himself in so doing. He says, if "Green 
Hatcher" and "Verdant Incubator" are not synon- 
ymous terms, then he does not know the force and 
meaning of English. As he is my warm personal 
friend and an authority on English, I let it stay as he 
has fixed it. 

The "W" in my name does not stand for "Washing- 
ton." This will be a revelation to many, who have 
thought all along that the "G. W." stood for "George 
Washington." No, indeed, it is Green Waggener. 
George Washington would not fit into the early part of 

(id 



12 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

my life, for if I was ever whipped for telling the 
truth when I was a boy, I have no recollection of it. 

The "Waggener" in my name I get from my Grand- 
mother on both sides, for my Grandmothers were 
sisters, hence I started in life closely related to my- 
self and considerably mixed up with myself and have 
so continued to this day. 

Reuben Henry Hatcher was my father and he was 
the son of Jeremiah Hatcher who came to Kentucky 
from Culpepper, Virginia, so if there is any virtue 
in the union of Kentucky and Virginia blood I am, to 
that extent, virtuous. 

I have been frequently asked if I was related to Dr. 
William E. Hatcher of Richmond, Virginia, and have 
tried to make out a case in my favor. But we could 
never get nearer together than one hundred years ago. 
In view of the fact that my grandfather was a Virgin- 
ian and that Dr. Hatcher is a Virginian, it is highly 
probable" (as the higher critics say), that the forks of 
the Hatcher family tree may be united somewhere in 
the dim past. If any of his friends or mine, upon 
investigation should find it so, I shall raise no ob- 
jection to it. He can speak for himself.* 

My Grandfather Hatcher was a farmer and in 
addition to farming, kept what was known all over the 
Green River country in that day as "Hatcher's Ware- 
house." It was located on Green River, near the 
village known as "Roachville." In his day, there 
being no railroads, the rivers were used in transporta- 
tion. The Green River country was a tobacco raising 



Ancestry, Birth and Boyhood 13 

section. The market for this product was New- 
Orleans. The tobacco was brought in ''hogsheads" to 
the warehouse and taken from there, on a flat-boat, 
down the Green, Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New 
Orleans. 

My Grandfather Creel was also a farmer, with a 
Bible name — "Simeon." He was also a worthy and 
prominent citizen. I never saw either of my Grand- 
fathers, they having passed away before my day. 

My father was married to Martha Creel, July 22, 
1842. Eleven children were the fruits of this union: 
Alice A. ; Green W. ; J. D. ; R. H. ; R. H. ; Wm. D. ; 
Martha C. ; Mary M. ; Simeon C. ; James M. ; and 
one who died unnamed. Five of these are alive today 
and each the builder of a home. 

My boyhood was spent on a farm on Caney Fork 
where I had all the experiences of the average country 
lad. There I formed an acquaintance with whooping 
cough, mumps, measles, chicken-pox, stonebruises and 
other ills that visit childhood. Having nothing else to 
do at that period I gave these visitors all the time 
they claimed so, by thus taking time by the forelock, 
I was enabled in later years to attend to other matters. 

Country life was not then what it is to-day. The 
country boy's horizon was then very circumscribed. 
His facilities for knowing were very limited. His 
advantages were meager, yet he lived and enjoyed life. 
The house in which he lived had no furnace, no electric 
lights, and but few pictures ; plain and scant furniture, 



14 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

but it was home. Its old fireplace with its roaring 
fire in wintertime, a happy family grouped around it, 
eating apples, cracking nuts and telling stories ; these 
painted a picture upon the memory that no modern im- 
provement or invention can possibly erase. 



CHAPTER II 

Starting to School 

I recall from the dim past my first day in school. 
How big I felt, as, with "Webster's Blue Back 
Spelling Book" under my arm and my dinner basket 
in my hand I left my home that morning ! I recall the 
name and face of the teacher to whom I recited my 
"a-b-abs" that day. I recall the long afternoon and 
the hard puncheon seats and the tired limbs swinging 
to and fro seeking rest and finding none. How 
drowsy the boy became after "playtime." It was hard 
for the eyes to keep open house. 

When school "let out" and the boy reached home, 
mother welcomed her "little man" with a warm kiss 
and a great big hug. It was also an event when 
"baker" was reached. I heard much about it long be- 
fore I reached it, and I imagine now, that my feelings 
when I scored that triumph were akin to the exulta- 
tions of Capt. Peary when he reached the North Pole. 
I am sure that my success has never been called in 
question as was his, for I not only reached it once but 
time and again and received the warm congratulations 
of many who had struggled on and up through the 
same difficulties and reached the same goal. 

During the second term I reached another land- 
mark and that put my name higher up in the temple 
of juvenile fame. I reached "ambiguity." For fear 
that "baker" would fade from my memory, my 

(15) 



16 



A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 



teacher turned me back" and for a long time I lived 
between "baker" and "ambiguity." I would start o 
school m the fall and begin at "baker" and the end oi 
Ae term would find me camping at or near , amb; 
mty. I may state in passing, that this experience 
may, when told, explain much that is ambiguous in 
my mental and moral make up. 
My second teacher was a woman-an old maid She 

wether"; " 6Very reSP6Ct in Whkh ^achers were 
we.ghed and measured then. I have never gotten 
away from her teaching> nor from the J 

she exerted over me. She, by precept and ex- 
ample mstilled into me, into my heart and life 
principles upon which I have builded all through 
these years and which, I believe, will stand the test of 
fire m the "Great Day." 

In order to stimulate her pupils and to secure the 
'MrTV' h ' r Patr ° nS ' She ^ ave each pupil a 

few of f h ""I' J ^ n ° W ' ^ m ? P««£n a 
few of these. As a sample I submit herewith two 
just as she wrote them: 

"Report of Green W. Hatcher for first month. 

In Deportment ln 

Proficiency : 

In 3rd Reader 

In Chirography " ' 

In Orthography " , Q 

Angerome Seminary, March 14th, '56. 

Carrie Bright/' 



Starting to School \7 

By way of explanation let me say, that "10'' indi- 
cated perfect. I was, therefore, at the end of the 
1st month half perfect and half imperfect and that 
left none of me to be pluperfect. 

I made up my mind to beat that record and the 
report of the second month shows how well I suc- 
ceeded. Here it is verbatim: 

"Report of Green W. Hatcher for second month 

In Deportment 10 

In Reading 10 

In Chirography 10 

In Orthography 10 

Absent , Tardy 1, Neatness 10, Politness 10. 
April 11th, '56. 

Carrie Bright/' 

This report stamps me with perfection for one 
month, save in one respect — I was late getting there 
one morning. Whether it was occasioned by late 
breakfast, loitering on the way or "pulling wool" with 
some fellow traveler this deponent sayeth not. I only 
can regret that it found its way into the record and 
wish that all my days since had been as free from im- 
perfections as this month was in the eyes of that dear 
and good woman. 

The "Angerome Seminary" spoken of in these re- 
ports was not a massive school building built of con- 
crete reinforced with steel, but a log school house 
built in the woods not far from "The deep tangled 
wildwood" spoken of by the poet. I was present at 
the "raising" of this house, having gone there with 
2 



18 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

my father, riding behind him on his horse.. This 
school house was not equipped in modern style ; com- 
fortable desks, with place for books, pencils, ink, etc. ; 
these came several years after this. There was one 
big stove in the center around which we all crowded. 
We shoved and jostled and scrooged until, by deter- 
mination and prowess, each made room for himself. 
There was a long writing desk along one entire side of 
this building and at this desk we would sit "taking our 
turn." 

I remember my first writing lesson. I had been 
told before I entered this "Seminary" that my first 
"copy" would be "straight marks." I was disgusted. 
I felt that it was a reflection upon my intelligence. I 
thought anybody could make straight marks. True to 
the prophecy the "copy" came and I undertook to 
write like the copy. I never was an expert at copying. 
I generally find out what I want to do and then, as the 
fellow said, do it "by the rule of do it." So, without 
paying much attention to the copy, I just cut loose and 
made marks ; some straighter than others, but none 
straight. I paid no attention to lines or spaces but 
just went ahead with my marking, some long and some 
longer ; some short and some much shorter. It was not 
long until that page looked like the man's corn rows. 
He vowed they were straight when he laid them off, 
but the ground being wet, the sun warped them. 

My teacher very kindly called my attention to the 
fact that in making "straight marks" they must not 
only be straight, but uniform in beginning and end- 



Starting to School. 19 

ing and in space between. Then it began to dawn up- 
on me that in making these marks accurately was 
the whole science and skill of penmanship, and to this 
day my mind has not changed. I went home at night 
a sadder and a wiser boy, but so crushed that I have 
hardly rallied from the effects of that blow, for I find 
it now as I have found it all along since — mighty hard 
to get and keep my lines straight. It is the science of 
living as well as writing. 



CHAPTER III 
On the Farm 

In my seventh year my father sent me out into the 
field and I went across that field every time the other 
laborers did. In the judgment of my father, work, in 
good strong allopathic doses, was good for boys. It 
was not long before I dissented from that opinion but 
the lower court was overruled by the decision of the 
higher court which was the law of the plantation. 

The year's routine was about this : About the first 
of January plant beds were prepared. Then followed 
clearing new ground for tobacco; then early plowing 
for corn and sowing of oats; then planting corn and 
then setting tobacco plants ; then cultivating corn and 
tobacco; then harvest; then cutting, houseing and 
firing tobacco; then corn gathering; then stripping, 
prizing and shipping tobacco. This program I fol- 
lowed until I was 23 years old. It was the best 
schooling I ever had. I gathered information from 
this source that has been helpful to me all through the 
subsequent years. It brought me into close touch and 
sympathy with farming and farmers and gave me 
ammunition that no school, college, seminary or 
university can furnish. 

I often wonder if a good farmer was not sacrificed 
in making a poor preacher when I gave up the one 
to take up the other. I know my own mind in this 

(20) 



On the Farm. 21 

matter and do not care to know what others think. 
It might throw a damper over me in my work. 

Farm life was not all drudgery. There were rifts in 
the clouds ; flowers bloomed along the way ; there 
were fertile spots in the desert; there were things to 
enjoy that only sons of toil and the tillers of the soil 
can appreciate. 

One soul-cheering, load lifting, cloud dispelling, 
body moving factor in farm life was the Old Dinner 
Horn. Not a steam whistle, with its mad scream ; nor 
a bell with a bang, clang and clatter, but a horn with 
its rich, deep melodious voice. Above the lowing of 
the herds, or the roaring of the storm that horn was 
heard. There was no sound on earth like it. I have 
heard Pianos and Pianolas, Melodeons, Harps, Violins, 
big and little ; I have listened to Orchestras, Choruses, 
Brass Bands, Solos, Duets, Quartettes, Quintettes, All- 
tetts and all of that ; I have heard Phonographs repro- 
duce the songs of Patti and Caruso ; but never, in 
all my life, have I ever heard any music half so 
musical as was the music of that dinner horn at the 
noon hour in the long, hot sultry days of July and 
August. It sent a message by the wireless route. That 
message, sun kissed and zephyr fanned, rolled across 
the fields, up over the hills and down into the valleys 
calling the weary to rest and the hungry to a feast. 
How it nerved me, filled me, thrilled me, moved me ; 
how — but what's the use, "the half can never be told." 
Its mandate was never ignored. Its orders were 
quickly and joyfully obeyed. The task was left un- 



22 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

finished, the implements and tools dropped from the 
hands as though they were hot and the tired feet 
stepped briskly in the path leading to the farmhouse. 
Then such a feast, and such an appetite. I have, since 
then, eaten in Grills and Delicatessens, Restaurants 
and "Greasy Spoons," Hotels and Boarding Houses, 
but I have never eaten anything, anywhere, on any 
occasion that was more satisfying to my taste than the 
"pone" of corn bread and "rash" of fat meat, upon 
which I feasted in my boyish hunger. The Latins had 
a proverb that read something like this: "Fames 
optimum condimentum est.*' The plain English of 
this is: "Hunger is the best sauce." I learned the 
Latin of this proverb in College, but I learned the 
English of it long before I entered College. 

Another thing that relieved the humdrum of those 
long years and days on the farm was the Saturday 
half holiday. Unless there was an abnormal rush, my 
father always gave his workers this respite from their 
labor. Frequently a task was assigned and when that 
task was done, work ceased for that week. My father 
was a fine judge of work and workmen and he gen- 
erally gave us about all we could do by Saturday noon. 
Sometimes, by diligence on our part and liberality on 
his part, the task was finished by ten a. m. When the 
work was done, then with gun and dog we would seek 
the fields and woods for squirrels and rabbits; or, if 
in season, with rod and bait, we would find the creek 
and while away the afternoon fishing or regaling our- 
selves in the swimming hole. Sometimes, the half day 



On the Farm. 23 

was spent in cultivating a tobacco patch for ourselves. 
This individual crop was raised, prized with the gen- 
eral crop and sold and the money given to the pro- 
ducer. I raised one crop in this way and the proceeds 
enabled me to purchase a rifle and a saddle. John D. 
Rockefeller never had greater joy in finding himself 
the owner of an oil field, than I had when this pur- 
chase was made with my own money. I felt that each 
dollar paid out had received the touch of my hand in 
toil and the sweat of my face in labor, and was there- 
fore mine as no money given to me could possibly 
have been. 

The climax of all joy and relief came with Christ- 
mas week, That was a stirring time with "all 
hands and the cook." Into the "big house" and into 
the "cabin" the tide of mirth rolled. The forenoon 
of Christmas Eve was given to "getting up" wood for 
the Christmas week. Then at noon all work was sus- 
pended until "New Years." How the days and hours 
of that week were crowded with activities. The 
Christmastide as we have it now had not then reached 
its crest, but it was on its way. In the kitchen were 
stacks of pies, open faced, barred and covered ; some 
half moon and some full moon; some apple, some 
pumpkin and some peach. There were piles of cookies 
and doughnuts, or, fried holes, "Pound Cake" and 
custard added much to the joy of the feast by their 
annual visit. White and black, big and little, old and 
young entered into the joy and leisure of the week. 
There were no "cannon crackers" nor "fire crackers" 



24 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

then, but there was plenty of noise. About three or 
four o'clock Christmas morning the firing of "Christ- 
mas guns" would begin. The farmers would step 
out into the yard and "fire off" a shotgun or rifle. 
Sometimes a "pistol shot" would break the silence. 
After the day dawned the boys would take some live 
coals of fire down to the spring branch and lay these 
on a flat rock, which had been wet with water. These 
coals were then hit with the back of an ax. One who 
has never tried this has no idea of the explosion this 
simple combination produces. To add zest to the 
occasion, my father would bore an auger hole in a 
heavy log and put in powder and then a wooden plug 
with a fuse attached. When this "went off" it "waked 
the natives." 

Another source of amusement to the boys was the 
"bladder bustin." We usually had our first "hog 
killing" before Christmas. The old colored man would 
save the bladders for us. Into these we would put 
beans and then inflate them to the limit. We would 
then put tjhem away in the "garret" until Christmas. 
When thoroughly dried out the bladder and beans 
made quite a "rattle box." When tired of shaking 
them we would hold them before the fire for a moment 
and then placing them on the floor and jumping on 
them we would have quite a "big gun." 

I recall an amusing experience I had one Christmas 
morning with the aforesaid "bladder bustin." We 
killed hogs just before Christmas. The bladders had 
not had time to dry out, consequently the material was 



On the Farm. 25 

green and tough. Holding it before the fire until the 
expansion had, as I thought, reached the limit, I laid it 
upon the floor and came down upon it with both feet. 
But the thing didn't bust — it rolled and I rolled and to 
this day I can't tell which did the most rolling, that 
green bladder or that Green boy. I have wondered, 
as I have looked at "Broncho Busters," ride "Bucking 
Broncho" and never be thrown out of the saddle, if 
one of these experts could ride a green bladder over a 
puncheon floor, in a negro cabin before day, on a 
Christmas morning and stay on top. I imagine he 
would find it to be the most treacherous thing he ever 
tried to ride. He would have nothing to hold to, 
nothing to sit on or nothing to stand on. He would 
be simply in mid-air — when not on the floor — looking 
for his mount. I have been thrown from horses and 
from oxen; dumped out of wagons and carts; have 
fallen over rocking chairs and wheelbarrows, but when 
asked to name the time and place when and where I 
received my hardest fall, I invariably answer: The 
time I tried to ride a green, tough bladder on Christ- 
mas morning in a negro cabin when I was a 
farmer boy. 

Another contributor to the spirit of the long ago 
Christmas was "eggnog." Everybody was up by three 
or four o'clock a. m. and after the stockings had been 
taken down and their contents inspected, then the 
heads of the family got busy. There was a breaking of 
eggs and a whipping of cream and when these in- 
gredients were sufficiently prepared, they were brought 



26 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

together. But this combination did not make eggnog. 
The "nog" was yet lacking. In order to have that, 
the bottle was brought out and "oily bourbon" was 
poured out and stirred into this cream and egg com- 
bination. This took away largely the eggy taste of the 
egg and the creamy taste of the cream and left decided- 
ly in evidence, the bourbon taste of the bourbon. This 
taste ran through it all, over it all and was the spirit 
of it all and all partook of that spirit. Some declared 
that they did not at all like the "nog," but were very 
fond of eggs and cream, and they had to take what 
they did not want in order to get what they did want. 
This eggnog was considered a tiptop drink but care 
and caution had to be exercised or it became a top-tip 
drink. I never saw any one drunk as a result of 
this Christmas custom, but I have seen a good many 
who were made vivacious by it. The eyes sparkled, 
the tongue worked glibly, and the man or woman was 
in great joy. Whether this merriment came from the 
occasion or from this triune combination, this scribe 
sayeth not. Let it suffice to say that nobody on the 
occasion spoken of was considered drunk as long as 
he could walk a crack in the floor. Sometimes the 
crookedest crack in the floor was the one chosen by 
the contestant and for obvious reasons. I will say for 
myself, that when I was in my seventh year, I took 
a vow upon myself, to the effect, that I would abstain 
from all intoxicating drinks as a beverage. This vow 
I kept faithfully. I did not take the eggnog, not be- 
cause it did not taste good, nor because I did not love 



On the Farm. 27 

it, nor because I did not want it, but simply because 
I felt the weight of that vow upon me. That vow, 
taken when a child, anchored me and I have found in 
my experience the truth of the old adage: "An ounce 
of prevention is better than a pound of cure." In other 
words, the best time to quit is before you begin. This 
holds good in all things that are not good enough to be 
carried in stock. I was much praised for my action. 
My father had unlimited confidence in me and never 
hestitated to entrust me with the glass and bottle on 
occasions when bourbon was used, such as "corn 
shuckings," "house raisings" and "log rollings." These 
tests were hard on me, but I stood them; never in a 
single instance breaking my pledge. To feel that I was 
doing, in this matter, what others were failing to do, 
nerved me for the fray and brought into my being 
moral stamina that has been helpful to me all along. 

I have no word of commendation for these drinking 
habits and customs of that day, for while I admit that 
there was less drunkenness then than now, I am forced 
to admit also, that we are now reaping the harvest of 
that sowing. The whiskey may have been purer then, 
but the habit was no better then than now, and that 
habit has grown with the long years that have flown 
and now it must be gratified though it takes "forty 
rod fighting rot gut" to do it. 



CHAPTER IV 
Conversion, Baptism and Church Membership 

As far back as I can remember I was a believer, that 
is to say, I had no doubt as to the existence of God, 
Christ and the Devil. These were as real to my think- 
ing as was any person of whom I had heard but had 
never seen. Heaven and Hell were as real to my mind 
as were other places of which I had been told. To my 
boyish mind the Bible was "God's Book." As such, 
I reverenced it, and while I wondered at some things 
I learned in it, yet I never disputed them. This faith 
came by hearing, for my father and mother, before 
me believed without a doubt these cardinal truths. 
I never heard a word from either of them that cast 
a shadow of suspicion over any part of the Bible. I 
received my earliest impressions from them. They 
were plain people, with the meager educational ad- 
vantages of the common country schools of their day. 
They never came in contact with that class of thinkers, 
who so very readily, and to their own satisfaction, at 
least, explain the Bible by contradicting it. To them, 
the "Thus saith the Lord" was the end of all con- 
troversy. Since I have passed from under their in- 
struction I have come in contact with this class in 
the pulpit and in print, but I still hold to the faith of 
my father and mother. In spite of all that I have 
heard and read to the contrary, coming from this 
source I still believe the Old Book from "kiver to 

(28) 



Conversion, Baptism, Church Membership. 29 

kiver." My faith in its eternal verities has never been 
shaken. I have carefully gone over the ground as far 
as I could, for myself, and plain indisputable facts, 
have established me in the faith taught me in my early 
life. I cannot recall the day in which I did not look 
upon some things as being right and other things as 
being wrong. Neither can I remember a time when I 
did not pray. I was taught to pray, to confess my sins 
and ask God for what I wanted. Many a time when 
there was sickness or trouble in the home, did I go to 
God with it. Many a time when something within me 
accused me of wrongdoing, did I go into some secret 
place and tell God all about it. But the fact that I was 
a sinner, as well as that I had sinned did not appeal to 
me until later on. The crisis came in 1858 when I had 
just entered my thirteenth year. In July of that year 
Rev. John James of Columbia, Kentucky, and Rev. 
Henry McDonald of Greensburg, Kentucky, conducted 
a meeting at old Mt. Gilead church in Green county, 
about one mile from my home. These were noble men 
of God. Rev. James was a man of deep piety and de- 
cided spirituality. He had keen insight into the deep 
meaning of God's word. Rev. McDonald was spiritual 
and eloquent ; his voice was musical and pathetic ; he 
was an Irishman and his brogue was fascinating. His 
history was thrillingly interesting. He was brought 
from New Orleans to Green county, Kentucky, by 
one Mr Gooch, who took a fancy to him and an inter- 
est in him. He was exceedingly bright and well edu- 
cated, having been educated for the priesthood in 



30 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

Ireland. He taught school for a while and then went 
to reading law. His fondness for drink came very 
near wrecking him. I have heard my father speak of 
him and lament the fact that a young man so talented 
should "throw himself away." But God in His grace, 
saved this young man. Immediately he gave up his 
law practice and went to preaching. He delivered a 
powerful exhortation the night of his conversion. His 
father never forgave him for becoming a Baptist 
preacher and went so far in his opposition to it as to 
disinherit him. 

These two men, different in mental make up, train- 
ing and manner of expression were well suited to each 
other, for wherein one lacked, the other supplied. This 
meeting, held at the time indicated, was an old- 
fashioned revival. It stirred the whole community. I 
was brought in close touch with the preachers for they 
made my father's house their home. I can never for- 
get their staying with us and how I loved them. As I 
rode to church one morning with my mother she 
spoke to me about becoming a christian. Her words 
went straight to my heart and sounded the depths of 
my soul. With my heart broken I went into the 
church and sat through the service under a load of 
conscious guilt and need. I gave that afternoon to re- 
flection. The fact that I was a sinner troubled me 
more than the fact that I had sinned. What I was 
weighed more heavily on my mind than anything I had 
ever done. I had fallen out with myself and in that 
frame of mind I went back to church that night. I 



Conversion, Baptism, Church Membership. 31 

cannot recall the sermon that was preached but I do 
recall the soul bitterness of that hour. A song was 
sung and "any who wanted to seek the Lord" were 
invited to come forward. I was sitting near the 
aisle. I did not go. I sat sobbing in my sorrow over 
sin. Rev. McDonald came to me and placing his hand 
upon my head, asked me if I did not want to be a 
christian. I have felt the soft, gentle, loving, pressure 
of that hand upon me ever since. In answer to his 
question, I assured him that I did want to become a 
christian. H'e then asked me to go forward with him 
and I went. Prayer was offered for me and others 
who had accepted the invitation. In reaching home my 
father approached me. It was a great cross for him 
to do this, for he was a timid man. He wanted me to 
do what was right, but did not want me to make any 
mistake in this matter. Realizing that I was young he 
wanted me to be sure of my footing. When I had 
passed through several days looking at myself, my 
sins and my tears, from all of which no relief came, I 
finally did what I was told to do at first — "I looked 
and I lived." When I let myself right down on God's 
promise made in and through Jesus Christ, peace came 
into my troubled soul and joy into my sad and sorrow- 
ful heart. 

Believing that Jesus died for sinners and therefore 
died for me, I accepted Him as my Savior and gave 
myself to Him to be His servant. Believing His 
promise, I felt in my heart that He was mine and I 



32 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

was His, therefore my mind was at rest and my soul 
was joyful. 

Fifty and eight years have passed since this trans- 
action between my soul and Jesus Christ took place, yet 
it was the beginning of all that I have experienced in 
grace, and if I ever reach the realm of glory I do not 
expect to be anything that will not root itself in the 
soil of this experience. That turned the tide of my 
life and something was then and there imparted to 
me upon which I have built and which made it possible 
to be and do whatever I have attained to since. 

Many were converted in this meeting and among 
them was my sister two years older than myself. My 
conversion stirred her deeply. In her sorrow she sank 
down into deep despair resulting from blind unbelief. 
She went into infidelity, saying there was nothing in 
it. But I knew better and told her so. At last she 
too "looked and lived" and never can I forget the 
"stir" she made as with a radiant face and courageous 
step she went to one after another of her associates and 
led them forward and knelt with them. 

As well as I remember there were more than twenty 
of us baptized at one time by Rev. John James in 
Caney Fork near the Springhouse of Robert Haskins. 
This is the list as my memory records it : Ben Chew- 
ning, Ben Will Penick, Mollie Penick, Elijah Brum- 
mell, Creed Haskins, Sallie Haskins, Dollie Anderson, 
Jeff Smith, Frank Stubbs, Nannie Miller, Anna Hatch- 
er, Juliett Hatcher, Alice Hatcher, G. W. Hatcher 
and J. C. Creel. The greater part of these have fin- 



Conversion, Baptism, Church Membership. 33 

ished their course and entered upon their rest. As 
far as is known, all who remain are consistent 
christians today. 

In those days "young converts" did not have the ad- 
vantages that young christians enjoy now. There were 
no "Sunday schools" nor "Young Peoples' Meetings." 
The old sheep and the lambs fared alike. I am not 
sure but that the absence of so many "helps" was a 
good thing for the beginners. They learned to "walk 
alone." Each fellow had to look out for himself for 
there was no one to look especially after him. 

After the revival closed, mentioned above, a young 
convert's meeting was started, but, like some modern 
"movements" it "died a borning." Our church had 
preaching twice each month. Elders John James and 
Henry McDonald preached once a month each, a very 
unwise arrangement, which resulted in both resigning. 

The regular preaching service was the only service 
to which the new members had access. The sheep and 
the lambs were fed together. The fodder was put 
where all could reach it. There was a "dividing" of 
the Word, giving "milk" to the "babes" and "meat" 
to the "strong." The young and old were hooked up 
together and pulled together in the same team and 
hitched to the same load. It did a young colt good 
to find himself keeping step with an old "wheel-horse." 
It looked like the colt was a part of the team any way. 
If he could not pull much, he was getting use to the 
harness, and developing muscle and getting ready to 
take the place of the old horse after a while. 
3 



34 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

When I went into the church I resolved that I would 
try to do whatever I was asked to do. This resolution 
got me into much trouble but I staid with it. 

I recall some instances in which I was sorely tested. 
On one occasion, after the sermon the preacher called 
on me to lead in prayer. Why he passed all the big 
fellows by and pounced down upon a boy in his thir- 
teenth year, I did not know and I could not then 
find out. I trembled all over, but my resolution came 
into my mind and I responded. I don't recall a 
word I said. I guess the Lord was the only one that 
heard and understood me at that time. It took me 
quite a while to get over the startle and shock oc- 
casioned by the sound of my own voice in public 
prayer. As I had resolved to respond when called on, 
I discovered that my comfort was in not being "called 
on." So I put my wits to work to prevent this. I 
made it a rule to attend the services. I would not run 
away, but I did try to hide myself from that preacher. 
I sat in the "Amen corner" and sat behind a brother 
many times larger than myself, and by keeping that 
brother squarely between myself and that preacher I 
saved my bacon a good many times. 

On another occasion, the pastor failed to come. It 
was a very stormy, wintry day. There were but few 
present. Among these were my Aunt, a neighbor, and 
a cousin who took a decided interest in my religious 
welfare. These came to me and asked me to read a 
portion of God's Word and lead in prayer. My reso- 
lution asserted itself and I said, "I will" and I wilted, 



Conversion, Baptism, Church Membership. 35 

but the wilting did me good. It toughened my moral 
and spiritual fiber. 

My father, by way of encouraging me, requested me 
to conduct family worship each Sunday night. This 
was a heavy cross and was carried with much fear and 
trembling, for my father, like a great many other 
fathers, was religiously timid. I never heard him 
pray, but I appreciated his efforts to have the son excel 
the father along religious lines. I found it very dif- 
ficult to keep this up when we had visitors. I knew I 
had the sympathy of the family, but the visitors ! Some 
of them there on a "courting expedition," and some 
getting ready to go into "court." What did they care 
about the family altar? If ever I felt that we were 
having too many visitors and that they were making 
their visits on the wrong night it was about that time. 
All this experience was helpful to me. Every time I 
was used in this way I put a barrier in the way of my 
"going back." It would have been hard for me to 
climb over all these acts voluntarily performed in the 
name of Christ. 

Another thing that helped to anchor me, was the 
interest taken in me by my widowed Aunt. She lived 
near my home and was one of the best women I have 
ever known. To help us along, she had a prayer 
meeting in her home one night in each week. The 
scriptures were read, sometimes by herself, sometimes 
by some of us, and then a song and a prayer until all 
who would, had prayed. Her children and her broth- 
ers' children breathed this heavenly atmosphere that 



36 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

made good rich, religious blood. Out of that humble 
prayer meeting two preachers have gone, one of whom 
is Elder James C. Creel, an able minister among the 
Disciples and the other is the scribe who pens these 
lines. 

In addition to these services a few of us improvised 
a service of our own. This was held, in the summer- 
time, in the afternoon in the woods. The two sons of 
my aunt, my brother and myself, and some neighbor 
boys, with some negro boys composed our crowd. Not 
all of these were Christians, but all interested in that 
meeting. We sang, we prayed, we talked, and I verily 
believe now, as I believed then, that "the Lord heark- 
ened," As I look back across this stretch of years and 
recall this yearning of heart and stretching of soul for 
something higher and better, how glad I am that I 
found in the soil in which I had been placed, so much 
upon which my soul could feed and fatten. I find 
nothing in this country, nothing in all our methods, 
movements and equipments, better for my soul than 
the old-fashioned prayer meeting seasoned with the 
scriptures, stirred with the songs of Zion, that sing 
their way right into the heart, and the sweet fellowship 
of kindred spirits knit together by heavenly ties — "the 
place of all on earth most sweet while Glory crowns 
the mercy seat." 



CHAPTER V 

Must I Preach? 

I have always had a warm place in my heart for 
the Preacher. He was, to my boyish way of thinking, 
the ideal man. I cannot recall a time in my life when, 
as I looked upon the preacher in action, I did not want 
to preach. Even before my conversion I longed to be 
able to enter the ministry. I longed to be in mind, 
heart and life what I thought every man was who 
was a preacher. I was conscious of the fact that my 
father and mother were in sympathy with the idea. I 
had heard them so declare. All this drew me toward 
this calling, yet I shrank from it as I never did from 
anything. A deep sense of unworthiness and a con- 
scious lack of equipment, stared me in the face. My 
trouble was greatly increased, when my church on its 
regular Saturday meeting "licensed" me to preach. I 
had been a member of the church about four years; 
had tried to live consistently and do my duty when 
called on. I was not present when the church made 
me a "licentiate." I shall never forget my feelings 
when told of what had occurred. It seemed that 
things were conspiring to force me into doing what I 
felt that I could not do. A keen sense of duty on one 
hand was pressing upon me and a deep sense of un- 
worthiness and unfitness pressed me upon the other 
hand. Not to go into it seemed to violate my con- 
science, to rob my soul of the divine approval ; yet my 

(37) 



38 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

heart cried out: "Who is sufficient for these things?" 

The duty to preach the Gospel came to me as clearly 
and as forcibly as did the duty to believe the Gospel 
some years before. I could see no way out of it un- 
less I refused to do what I felt God wanted me to do 
and take the consequences and at the thought of such a 
course my soul shuddered. The action the church had 
taken in making me a licentiate so hedged me in as to 
almost force a surrender. Just at this juncture a 
heavy blow fell upon me, that so shattered my earthly 
hopes, and so increased my difficulties as to lead me in 
my plan and purpose to side track preaching in- 
definitely. 

On the fifteenth day of April, 1862, my father died. 
I was in my 16th year. My mother was left with 
seven children and I was the oldest child living. My 
duty to my mother and her children was as clear as 
the midday's sun. To me she and the children had a 
right to look and upon me they had an undisputed 
right to lean. I did not see how I could fit myself for 
the work of the ministry and do my duty by my mother 
and her family. I interpreted the Divine Providence 
in removing my father as a voice telling me to take 
my mother and her children as my personal charge and 
do my duty by them. Thus my conscience was poul- 
ticed and I gladly gave myself unstintedly to my home 
and its obligations. 

The burdens that I bore as the "head of the family" 
were heavy for one of my age and experience and but 
for the timely aid faithfully and freely given by older 



Must I Preach? 39 

and wiser heads, I should have gone down beneath 
their weight. I had sane and safe advisers and I used 
them to my profit. Among these was "Uncle Billie 
Blankenship" a near neighbor and my father's friend. 
He took a decided interest in me. He was a cripple 
and rode from field to field on his pony. The fences 
were left with "gaps" for his convenience. He would 
ride over onto our farm and tell me how and what to 
do. His interest in me and in my mother's family was 
shown not simply in fatherly advice, but in a more 
substantial way. When feed and provisions were high 
and money was scarce, he came to our relief time and 
again. He had his faults and his weaknesses, but he 
was not lacking in helpful friendliness toward the 
fatherless and the widow. There were others who 
lightened our burdens and made us feel that we were 
not forgotten or friendless. These were trying times 
and the cares they brought and the burdens they im- 
posed were such as to tax hand, head and heart. I 
tried to live near the Lord and in the discharge of my 
duty as son and brother, but gave as little thought to 
preaching as my conscience would allow. As the years 
rolled on my younger brothers grew in stature and 
experience and as they came more and more in 
evidence I could see and feel that my presence in the 
home was not an absolute necessity. So the old strug- 
gle with duty was resumed. The battle was fierce but 
decisive. In my twentieth year, after running, fight- 
ing, dodging, compromising, and everything else I 
could do in order to escape, I surrendered. I said : 



40 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

"God helping me I will." I took steps at once to fit 
myself as far as I could for the ministry. My educa- 
tion was limited, being such as the country schools of 
that day afforded. Somehow my call to preach did 
not bring to me a knowledge of books and men and 
things that I was sure a preacher ought to have. I 
could not depend upon God for what I could and ought 
to get myself. I could not trust Him to fill my mouth 
with anything but wind, if I failed to do my part. I 
could no more trust God for sermons without study, 
than I could trust Him for harvests when on the farm 
without sowing and planting. 



CHAPTER VI 
During the War 

I was in the Civil War, but not of it. I have never 
been a belligerent. I could never fight unless I was 
mad, and during this war I was not mad. I was scared 
and when scared, however brave my head and heart 
are my legs will beat a retreat. I have been kept 
out of many a tussle in this way. A fight has to be 
very short if I see both ends of it. I may, unknowing- 
ly, run into the beginning of it, but unless it is over 
before I can possibly get away, I am never at the 
finish. 

When the war broke out, I was not old enough to 
enlist and I was glad of it. During the four years of 
strife I had no more desire to go into it than I had at 
the beginning. I did not want to kill anybody ; neither 
did I want anybody to kill me. Like the Irishman, "I 
had rather be a coward for a day than to be a corpse 
the rest of my life." 

These were stirring times. Kentucky, my native 
state, at first declared in favor of "neutrality." But 
it soon became evident that that policy would make 
the state the great battlefield, for the Southern army 
was invading her Southern border and the Northern 
army was sending its troops into the Northern portion 
of the state. In the county in which I lived regiments 
were being raised and drilled and equipped for both 

41 



42 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

armies. In the county seat, two brothers-in-law were 
drilling men, one to take them South and the other to 
take them North. Sectional feeling ran high. 
Neighbors and families were divided. It was a relief 
when these elements drew apart and each took his 
stand where his interests, or his judgment lead him. 

My father was what was then known as a "Union 
Man." He believed in slavery, for he was a slave 
owner, but he did not believe in "secession" as it was 
called. He died the second year of the war. Had he 
lived to see its progress he might have changed his 
views. 

I shall never forget one incident that occurred prior 
to his death. It was getting to be unsafe for "Union 
men" to remain at home, hence many such went to the 
Union Camp and stayed for protection. My father's 
health and helplessness of his family prevented his en- 
listing in the army. At the urgent solicitation of my 
mother he decided to take the protection which the 
camp offered. Before going, however, he called up 
two old faithful colored men, two brothers, "Uncle 
Pack" and "Uncle Stokes." He told them where he 
was going and what for and said to them : "I leave my 
wife and children, my home and all my possessions in 
your care. Take care of all until I return." 

Such was the loyalty of these two brothers to "Ole 
Massah" and "Missis" that, I verily believe if a sol- 
dier of either army had molested us or our home, he 
would have had to have killed those two old faithful 
negroes. 



During the War. 43 

Only people who were raised among them before 
these trouble came can fully appreciate this spirit of 
devotion shown by negroes in times of danger. 

Being in Central Kentucky I was not much "under 
fire." We would see every few days troops passing, 
sometimes "Woolford's men" after "Morgan" and 
sometimes "Morgan's men" after "Woolford's" and 
I used to think that neither was very anxious to see 
the other. General Morgan was a terror to our sec- 
tion. He did not molest homes, did not insult or in 
anyway mistreat citizens. His business was to re- 
cruit his army and secure horses. When his men 
found horses suited to their purpose, they did not ask 
the price, or whether or not the animals could be 
spared, but they just took them and if you did not 
like it you had to stand it. One New Year's day a 
squad of men invaded our barn lot. They wore blue 
overcoats and said they were "Woolford's men" in 
pursuit of Morgan and had to have fresh horses in 
order to catch him. My mother had one horse "old 
Charlie," for which she pled. She told these men she 
was a widow and upon this horse she depended for her 
next crop. Her tears were unavailing. They left, in 
the room and stead of "Old Charlie" a large, fine young 
mule with as much sore back as was ever seen between 
a mule's ears and tail at one time. Late that evening 
we saw some one coming across the field riding "Old 
Charlie." We recognized the horse, at a distance but 
not the rider. When he rode up, we were face to face 
with our family physician. He had a very fine "straw- 



44 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

berry roan," a real "Kentucky stepper" and when 
Morgan's men (for such they were) met him, having 
discovered that "old Charlie" would not serve them, 
they dismounted him and told him to bring the horse 
home and "if the lady" was willing, to take the mule. 
He found "the lady" and all the children more than 
willing. If a horse ever did get a hearty reception "old 
Charlie" got one that night. A warm stall and plenty 
of corn, oats and hay was his daily portion. He 
served us faithfully for a long time. If there is any- 
where a "horse heaven" and faithfulness gains an ad- 
mittance to it, then "old Charlie" is in that heaven 
now. 

Now for another chapter in this episode: Years 
after this occurred, I moved to Missouri and in course 
of time became the Pastor of Carrollton Baptist 
church. After I had been pastor a short time my wife, 
mother and myself went to sit till bedtime with a fam- 
ily connected with our church. During the conver- 
sation, the war came up and I learned that the man of 
the house was with Morgan during the war. I told the 
story which I have here related. He recalled the in- 
cident and proved to be one of that squad. So there 
I was, pastor of a church that had in it in "good stand- 
ing and full fellowship" a man that took my mother's 
only horse, during the war. Well, we let bygones be 
bygones. I tried to be faithful to him and he was to 
me a fast friend. 

The torn-up condition of affairs again put me in 
doubt as to taking up the work of fitting myself for the 



During the War. 45 

ministry. I could not think of leaving my mother and 
her children when they seemed to need me most. But 
when the "cruel war was over" the conviction again 
gripped me. Devotion to mother and family express- 
ing itself in living with them and living for them could 
no longer be substituted for that to which I felt I had 
been called and for which I felt called upon to prepare 
myself. Just here the question arose: "How can they 
go unless they are sent?" I could not send myself and 
had no one to send me. Oh! the sorrow and disap- 
pointment of that hour. But night brought out the 
stars. God opened the way and I walked therein. 



CHAPTER VII. 
In the School of the Prophets 

In 1865, or about that time, my mother moved to 
Hart County, Kentucky, having bought a small farm 
there. I worked on that farm for about two years, 
eager for an opening through which I might carry 
out my long cherished purpose. It came. Rev. James 
G. Hardy, than whom there was never a man more in 
sympathy with young struggling preachers, opened the 
way for me to go to Georgetown College. He said to 
me : "You go and I will raise and send to you all the 
money you lack to pay your way." How much has 
" faith'' 1 wrought out in my life? With just money 
enough to pay my railroad fare and a few dollars left 
for "incidentals," I went, leaving my mother and her 
children in the care of Him who has declared himself 
to be "the father of the fatherless and the judge of the 
widow." 

My faith in my Pastor and my brethren did not fail 
me. They made good and lifted a burden from my 
soul, in removing an insuperable barrier, if left to me. 
The first person to meet me and greet me was Prof. 
J. J. Rucker, (or "old Jube" as the boys called him) ; 
the next was Charlie Dickens, then J. M. Coleman and 
W. T. Jolly. I needed all the help these and other 
kindred spirits could give me, for I was as sorely tried 
by "homesickness" as a poor country boy ever was. 

For awhile I scarcely could eat or sleep. I wanted 
home and all that home was to me. In my dreams I 

46 



In the School of the Prophets. 47 

could see my mother and hear and see the children in 
their sports. I would awake with tears and sighs and 
sobs. But by dint of my will and my "woont" power, I 
came out of this and took up my work. 

The College had then as its President Dr. N. M. 
Crawford, a fine scholarly christian gentleman, and 
one of the most timid men I ever knew, to have and 
hold the positions he so honorably filled. As members 
of the faculty were Prof. J. J. Rucker, Prof. Farnham, 
Dr. Cadwalader Lewis and Dr. E. D. Isbell, who 
afterward lived and died in Missouri, and Prof. 
Thomas. The young preachers boarded in "Paulding 
Hall," a building that had been donated for this pur- 
pose. This "preachers' home" was kept by Dr. Isbell 
and his noble wife. They furnished bed and board at 
very reasonable figures and took the oversight of the 
young "theologs." Many a time their righteous souls 
were vexed by these theological sprouts. But by their 
gentle firmness they kept these buds of promise from 
opening prematurely. When necessary, they could 
take the conceit out of a young preacher as easily as a 
"lightning tooth extractor" could lift out a tooth. But 
it was not by any means a "painless operation." 

In connection with the theological department, we 
had a society for which we were asked to prepare 
"skeleton sermons" to be read and then criticised. Dr. 
Isbell and Dr. Lewis were usually present to the dis- 
comfort of the reader. Imagine a boy with no more 
idea of "sermon building" than he had of the construc- 
tion of a railroad engine, getting bones enough together 



48 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

and so articulating them as to make a "skeleton 
sermon." And imagine, if you can, the deep mortifi- 
cation of the aforesaid boy when told that "if his text 
had the smallpox his sermon would never catch it." 
That boy then wanted to be farther from that scene 
than his "skeleton" was from his text. 

One night we surely did have some fun. These two 
Doctors disagreed over the treatment of a text and 
they locked horns and the boys enjoyed the bout. That 
was before the days of Corbett Sullivan and Bob 
Fitzsimmons. But neither of them ever carried the art 
of "side-stepping," "slugging," "covering" and "land- 
ing" further than did these two masters of Theology 
in this encounter. Both were badly whipped and we 
were glad of it, for they were never as severe with us 
afterwards. A dose of one's own medicine is decidedly 
advantageous at times. 

When I reached Georgetown College I found I was 
not advanced far enough to enter College. So I had 
to tarry for five months in "the Kitchen" as the Pre- 
paratory Department was called. But I was not alone. 
Of course we were twitted and guyed by the College 
boys, but this put us on our mettle. At the end of five 
months we graduated from this department and en- 
tered the Freshman class. This class was a noted 
class, not on account of my connection with it, but on 
account of others who have given it prestige. J. M. 
Frost, A. C. Davidson, I. R. M. Beeson, Joe Felix, 
Mat Riley, J. N. Barbee and others besides myself 
were members of this class. 



In the School of the Prophets. 49 

During the summer between my first and second 
year in College I was a "book agent" and as such had 
an experience that has ever since made me very con- 
siderate of the feelings of this much abused class. I 
never shut the door in one's face, or treat him rudely 
in any way. My past gets around in front of me and 
I pled with myself for that agent. Everybody ought 
to sell books one season. I would not advise a longer 
term unless he is blind, deaf and "past feeling." Just 
one season's work of this kind will give an experience 
that will outlast the marks of smallpox. 

The book I sold was a book on "Communion" by 
W. W. Gardner and was a clear, strong and interesting 
presentation of that subject. But the book sold for one 
dollar and as I received only forty cents of that dollar 
I could not sell books enough, in three months, to pay 
my way in College nine months. So here was an- 
other problem. But I had squeezed through so many 
tight places I felt somehow I would get through this 
one. I have often asked myself the question : "Did 
your squeezing through so many tight places in your 
youth have anything to do with your being so thin and 
slab-sided in your maturer years?" If it did, there is 
consolation in the thought that I came by it honestly. 

Just before the time came for me to return to Col- 
lege I attended Russell's Creek Association, my old 
Association. I was there with my book strengthening 
the views of the brethren on Communion. Dr. Henry 
McDonald was a visitor that year. He was dearly 
beloved by the body, having been a valuable member of 
4 



50 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

it years before. He had a talk with me and having 
found out my financial difficulties asked the privilege 
of presenting the matter to the Association and taking 
a collection in my behalf. It was done and so prompt- 
ly, willingly and joyfully did the brethren respond that 
I felt it was a great privilege to be poor so as to taste 
the sweet joys of that hour and furnish others the 
opportunity of putting themselves in a helpful way 
into a human life. 

This timely aid enabled me to enter College again in 
the fall. What was lacking I borrowed from a friend 
and relative and replaced it the following summer by 
working through wheat, oat, and hay harvest. 

At the close of the second year in College I re- 
ceived offered assistance from an unexpected source. 
The wife of Prof. Thomas, who had been very kind 
to me and helpful in many ways, proposed taking me 
into her home as her son, putting me through College 
and then sending me to the Seminary all at her own 
expense. For reasons that will appear later on, I was 
forced, much to my deep sorrow and regret, to turn 
this proposition down. But her willingness and readi- 
ness to do this thing for me gave her a place in my 
affection as a true friend that will remain hers forever. 



CHAPTER VIJ I 

Westward Ho! 

My mother had three brothers living in Missouri. 
They thought it would be better for her to bring her 
family to this comparatively new country. After much 
thought she decided to move to Missouri ; so in the fall 
of 1869 she sold out and came west. I was teaching 
school at the time and could not come until March, 
1870. In that month of that year I landed in Carroll- 
ton and spent my first night in Missouri in the home 
of Rev. G. L. Black. In meeting him and L. B. Ely I 
met the two men, who have done more for me than any 
two men living or dead. 

My brother, younger than myself had told the peo- 
ple about his "preacher brother" who was to come and 
had an appointment for me at Mt. Zion church, six 
miles north of Carrollton. I met the people that day, 
Most of my hearers that day are dead. The great 
wonder is they did not all die. A few, however, lived 
through it and are alive at this writing. All that I 
ever heard of my "effort" was in the way of sympathy. 
I was young and looked younger than I was. I was 
scared and plainly showed it. One tender-hearted, 
motherly sister said : "Poor boy ! He ought to be at 
home with his mother." And what she said, I felt. 

In April following I was employed to teach school 
in the Powell District. I had taught two terms in 
Kentucky, so was not a novice at the business. But I 

51 



52 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

was not fond of it. Teaching "young ideas to shoot" 
or young shoots to idea was harder with me than 
"shooting the chutes" in later years. If I could have 
had the making of the children before they were 
turned over to me they would have been different. 

I am heartily in favor of "pensioning" school teach- 
ers. If human nature, in its "quintessence," just as 
it came from Adam after his fall, is not to be found in 
the average "District School" it cannot be found any- 
where on this earth. How sane and sober men and 
gentle, modest women can evolve from obstreperous 
boys and rude girls is a problem indeed. And how a 
teacher can wrestle with this problem year in and year 
out and keep his sense and his religion is equally 
problematical. Especially is this true since the "rod" 
has been banished from the school room. That, in my 
day was a "sine qua non." There was one scriptural 
injunction that was joyfully obeyed by the teacher, 
"Spare not the rod." If children were "spoiled" in 
those days it was not the result of neglecting this 
heavenly injunction. 

I have always enjoyed the story told on a lady teach- 
er, who applied for a position in one of the 
Kansas schools. When she came before the School 
Board the question was put to her : "What is your at- 
titude toward bodily punishment?" Her answer was: 
"My favorite attitude is across my lap, face down- 
ward." Be it said to the credit of that Board that that 
woman got that place. 



Westivard Ho! 53 

In the Mt. Zion neighborhood where I taught my 
first school in Missouri, I formed friendships that 
have lasted through all the years since. My home was 
in the family of Lewis N. Reece and never did a 
teacher have a more pleasant and congenial home. 
The head of the house was a christian, a deacon in the 
Baptist church. He was a man of culture, well posted 
along all lines, and a fine conversationalist. He was 
like a father to me, helping me in every possible way, 
rejoicing in whatever success I attained and stirring 
up in me a desire and a determination to attempt great- 
er things. His wife was a dear motherly woman who 
knew just how to be queen in the home. My own 
mother could not have been more attentive to me, 
more considerate of my health and comfort than was 
this dear woman. There were four children in that 
home, a grown young lady, a girl who went to school 
to me, and two grown brothers. This family I shall 
ever remember with gratitude. The father, mother 
and one of the sons now sleep under the sod but the 
fragrance of that home, now broken up, will ever 
linger with those who were brought in close touch with 
it. My connection with that family left a deposit that 
enriched my head and my heart. 

Among the friends of those days were the Allen and 
Clinkscales families, some of whom yet live. The 
Lord never made more hospitable, more neighborly 
people than these. In the list was also the Minnis 
family. It was an exceptionally fine community. The 
atmosphere of these homes and the fellowship of 



54 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

these spirits soon reconciled me to living in Missouri 
rather than in Kentucky. 

After teaching two or three schools the way was 
again opened for me to take up the work of my own 
education. As I accepted invitations to preach at dif- 
ferent times, I felt more keenly than ever my lack of 
mental training. So in September, 1871, I entered 
Wm. Jewell College. My plan when I entered, was to 
take the full course and then go to the Seminary, but 
the "plans o' mice and men oft gang aglee." In Janu- 
ary, 1872, I was sent home "to die with consumption." 
I am glad to say that the Doctor missed it in his diag- 
nosis ; at any rate I did not die. That is the last thing 
I am going to do and I am going to postpone that just 
as long as possible. This is a mighty good world to 
live in, good people, good places, great opportunities 
for doing and receiving good and here I want to stay 
as long as I can help others and have others help me. 

My stay in William Jewell was short, but very 
helpful. There I came in touch with that master 
mind, Dr. Rambaut ; I was under the instruction of 
that scholar and perfect gentleman, A. F. Fleet; I sat 
in the class taught by Prof. Semple, "the noblest 
Roman of them all." I also became acquainted with 
Profs. Lannau, Fox and Eaton ; men of sterling worth, 
who left their impress upon their pupils. 

The student body was a magnificent lot of boys 
who have "brought things to pass" in the years that 
followed. There were J. C. Armstrong, J. J. Stogdale, 
L. E. Martin, F. Menefee, Joe Conner, J. G. Burchett, 



Westward Ho! 55 

C. N. Wester and Petty, Mydette, Scott, Ferguson 
and a host of others just as worthy. How I hated to 
leave these boys ! I was so anxious to go with them 
to the end. But I could not, so I yielded as gracefully 
as I could to the inevitable. I thought it better to go 
home and use an unfinished program, than to stay and 
run the risk of a break down that would keep me 
from using what I had. Time has shown the decision 
to have been wise on my part. 



CHAPTER IX 

Entering the Ministry 

Having given up all hope of completing my educa- 
tional course, on account of failing health, the only 
course left me was that of building myself up physi- 
cally, if possible and putting to use what training I had 
in stock, increased by what I could pick up as I went 
along. My physician had told me to "live in the open 
air, ride horseback, eat all the butter and drink all 
the cream I could get." Each item in this prescription 
was agreeable to my taste, so I began at once to 
take it. I bought a pony, got a pair of "saddle-bags" 
and started out. I had four appointments, reaching 
from Big Creek church in Carroll County, to "Shaw's 
Shop" in Ray County, with Mt. Zion and "Barham 
school house" between. At each of these places I 
preached once each month. 

I was yet unordained. I had been urged to be or- 
dained before I entered William Jewell and but for the 
influence of Brother G. L. Black, I would have made 
that mistake. He frankly advised me not to do it 
and showed me how it would militate against me while 
in College; how it would lead to calls to preach here 
and there and in other ways tax my time and energies. 
He suggested that I wait until I was through with my 
College work and then with heart and soul throw my- 
self into the regular work of a full time preacher. 
Taking his advice I declined to consider the proposi- 
tion until my school days were over. 

56 



Entering the Ministry. 57 

In order to become pastor it was necessary that I 
submit to ordination. So, Mt. Zion church, of which 
I was a member, and to which I had been called 
as pastor, called for my ordination. To this end, a 
council, consisting of Rev. G. L. Black, Rev. Duncan 
Selph and Rev. Elkanah Spurgeon was called to meet 
at Mt. Zion church on the 27th day of April, 1872. On 
that day, these brethren, with the deacons of Mt. Zion 
church and deacon James F. Tull of Carrollton 
church, met with the church in council. Dr. Selph, 
who was at that time President of Lexington Baptist 
Female College, was made Moderator and Deacon 
James F. Tull, was made Clerk of the Council. Satur- 
day, the 27th, was given to hearing the "experience 
and call to the ministry" of the candidate and an "ex- 
amination of his views of Bible Doctrines and church 
polity." To me, that was a long, hard day; a very 
trying day. I don't know what others thought about it, 
but to me it was a "very rigid examination" and left 
me me not rigid nor frigid, but limp and melted. Dr. 
Selph conducted the examination and if asking ques- 
tions is any indication of wanting to know, he had it 
as bad as any body I ever saw. He took me whirling 
from the Garden of Eden to the General Judgment 
with a lot of side trips thrown in. He pumped me 
until it seemed to me that his pump "sucked air." I 
answered as far as I could and grunted the rest of the 
way. He forgot a few things, but the other brethren 
thought of them and what he left out they put in. It 



58 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

is awful to be tossed about in this way like a football 
in the hands of husky athletes. 

The ordeal closed and a favorable report was made 
to the church and the church instructed the council 
to proceed with the ordination. To my supreme satis- 
faction the exercises closed for that day. This gave 
me a breathing spell and a night in which to sleep and 
dream of the past and gather strength for the home 
run. 

The next day, Sunday, was a beautiful spring day. 
I accepted it as a good omen. At eleven o'clock the 
services were resumed. Dr. Selph preached the 
sermon taking as his text these words : "For we preach 
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and our- 
selves your servants for Jesus' sake" 2 Cor. 4:5. 

He clearly outlined the two-fold mission of the 
minister, the preaching of Jesus Christ and serving 
others for Jesus' sake. As he spoke of this two-fold 
work, how my heart yearned to be just what he pic- 
tured. I never had such an exalted view of the "man 
and his message" as was given me in that sermon. To 
this day the ideal set before me is my goal. I shall 
never attain to it but as long as I live and can preach, 
I shall press on toward this end. No ordination 
sermon ever went deeper into the heart and life of 
the candidate than did that one. His voice and words 
ring in my soul at this writing. 

The "charge to the candidate" was delivered by 
Rev. G. L. Black. He had known me ever since I 
came to the state. I had been in his home, slept in his 



Entering the Ministry. 59 

bed and eaten at his table. His words were wise and 
fatherly. He called my attention to some of the things 
I would encounter in my work. He set them forth as 
they are and as he knew them to be and as I have 
since found them to be. He then pointed out the 
manly thing for me to do, to just keep on "preaching 
and serving." He exhorted me to remember, that 
my master "who was greater and better than Hatcher 
met the same treatment." How many times have his 
words come to me and helped me ! 

In whatever respect my ministry has been a failure 
that failure cannot be laid at the door of either of 
these noble men of God who did so much to help 
me when they "put me into the ministry." 

Rev. Elkanah Spurgeon delivered the ordaining 
prayer. How tenderly he took me up in the arms of 
his petition and how closely did he bring me and all 
who heard him to God in that prayer. It seemed to 
me that heaven and earth came together just then and 
there. 

These good men are now in heaven and I am on 
the way. I expect some day to see them and tell 
them that all through life I felt the gentle, loving 
pressure of their hands upon my head and felt the 
stimulating effects of their words in my heart. 

Whatever I accomplish as a minister that is worth 
while, will have upon it the finger prints of these men. 






CHAPTER X. 

Taking Charge of Country Churches 

Having been brought up in the country, I very 
naturally and easily took hold of country work. I 
knew the country people, was one of them, knew 
their customs, their way of thinking and living. I 
loved them and felt that God loved them or, as, 
Abraham Lincoln said: "He would not have made so 
many of them." I knew farm life, for I had lived 
it. I knew the comforts and discomforts, the joys 
and sorrows, the advantages and disadvantages of 
country life, having learned all of this in the school 
of experience. 

The conditions in the country in Missouri in 1872 
were not what they are to-day. The country was com- 
paratively new; much of it was open prairie, across 
which roads and trails ran in every direction. The 
people were industrious and many of them "well to- 
do" but they were not "rushed" as they are now. They 
did not raise so many different crops; they had more 
leisure. Between harvest and corn gathering there 
was a gap, and during this lull in the activities of rural 
life these people hunted, visited or went to meetings. 
It was a great time for evangelizing. People were 
hungry for preaching. They would go for miles, 
horse back and in road wagons, for buggies and spring 
wagons were not much in evidence then. The place of 
meeting was the great meeting place for the people. 

60 



Taking Charge of Country Churches. 61 

School houses were used where there were no church 
houses. In almost every community there were a 
few devout souls who opened the door for the preacher 
and called the people together. The services were 
plain and simple. All felt at home and all were in- 
terested in some feature of the service. The "old 
songs" were used and they all sang, some could not 
sing like Patti or Caruso, but they sang. Some could 
not carry a tune in a basket with the lid on, yet they 
went through the motion. There was not much music 
or melody in it but there was a great deal of soul. 

Amid these conditions, meetings were held, churches 
were organized, Sunday schools were established and 
the Gospel found its way into the heart and life of a 
robust type of men and women who were equal to 
the emergencies of their day. They had time to think 
and they used well their time. 

In their quiet way, they laid deep and broad the 
foundations on which we are building today. I some- 
times wonder if, in what is essentially religious, we are 
ahead of these good people to-day. We are going 
faster, but is pace always progress? We are talking 
over phones, but what are we saying? We are raising 
more corn and cattle and getting richer in material 
wealth, but have we any more of the "unsearchable 
riches of Christ" than these plain people had? We 
have more and better church houses and more elab- 
orate services, but is there more of God and Christ and 
the Holy Spirit in our services now than men and 



62 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

women then felt and enjoyed in their plain and 
cramped places of worship? 

Have we carried, up and out with us, into our higher 
and larger places, the simple faith, the rugged integ- 
rity, the unfailing loyalty of our fathers ? Are we do- 
ing as well or as much, in our day, with all our com- 
forts and conveniences, our privileges and opportu- 
nities as they did in theirs? 

Would the fathers and mothers of that day, who 
loaded a good size family into a heavy road wagon 
and drove five miles through mud, over rough roads, 
or through rain or snow to meeting, stay at home 
now, when there is a church almost in sight with a 
fine road leading to it and a rubber tired buggy or an 
auto in which to make the trip ? Would the man who 
enjoyed the efforts of the "two by four" preacher 
then, fail to feast upon the truth dispensed by the 
thoroughly trained preacher now? 

I am not a pessimist judging myself by this stand- 
ard: 

"Twixt optimism and pessimism 
The difference is small. 
The optimist the doughnut sees, 
The pessimist the hole." 

I can see the doughnut, yet I sometimes long for 
some of "ye ole time" meetings in which sinners actu- 
ally cried — men and women — over their sins and re- 
joiced over sins forgiven. 

In spite of services with frills, I long for the plain 
"bill of fare" of the long ago. I enjoy a quartette and 



Taking Charge of Country Churches. 63 

a duet, if it is a good one, but I, true to my raising, 
enjoy more an all-tette. I appreciate the "up to date" 
preacher, with his "advanced thought," but how I 
would enjoy hearing one of the old time "exhorters" 
who set things afire with his burning eloquence. He 
did not know as much as some know now, but what he 
knew he knew to be so. He did not know much that 
was not so. He had no doubts to preach. He had 
never read the Commission as it is now being revised : 
"Go ye into some places and state your opinions ; he 
that believes them and is baptized in any manner he 
thinks is becoming, shall be saved, provided he does 
not fall from grace ; and he that does not believe shall 
be damned, after a fashion. Teach the evangelized to 
observe the things I have commanded you, provided, 
there is nobody around to take issue with what you 
say." These old fellows would have had an awful 
time swallowing this does and just as hard a time get- 
ting it down the throats of others. 

I here turn the leaves of my mental Album to look 
again upon the faces and forms of the men with whom 
I labored and who did much for the "young preacher." 

There is the Rev. J. M. Goodson whose influence for 
good in Missouri Valley Association will never die. He 
was the first convert in Carrollton church after its 
organization and at the call of that church he was 
ordained and served as pastor for some years. He 
had a keen incisive intellect with no theological train- 
ing in the schools ; he became a profound student of the 
Bible and a sane and safe interpreter of the scriptures. 



64 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

He could excel any man I ever knew in unfolding the 
deep things of God's Word in the social circle. I have 
listened to him by the hour, as he sat and talked about 
Bible characters, times and things. He would take the 
men and women of those times and bring them right 
into the present and have them living, saying and 
doing things. They were as real as were the men and 
women around him. Sometimes, as he talked, he 
would almost choke with emotion and the tears would 
roll down his face. It was a rare treat to get him 
going and then look and listen. Being "a man of one 
book," his preaching was biblical and spiritual. He 
fed his people on the "milk" and the "meat" of the 
Word. He could be as tender as a woman and as 
sharp and severe as caustic. "Uncle Mat," as he was 
familiarly called by nearly everybody, left his impress 
upon the hearts and homes of the people of his day. 
He died December 2, 1879, in his sixty-ninth year. 

There is Rev. Curtis Bullock who spent about fifteen 
years in Carroll county doing pioneer work. Before 
coming to Carroll county he traveled as Colporteur 
of the American Tract Society. He was at that time 
a Presbyterian, but in 1854 he united with a Baptist 
church in Iowa and was licensed to preach the same 
year. When he moved to Carroll county he entered 
the service of the American Baptist Publication Soci- 
ety as Colporteur and missionary and served in that 
capacity for about three years during which time he 
baptized about four hundred converts. He was in- 
strumental in organizing many churches and Sunday 



Taking Charge of Country Churches. 65 

schools in the county. His preaching was plain and 
straight-forward. He had no ribbons on his blade, 
sometimes he was very blunt, then again very pathetic. 
His voice was harsh and almost rasping, the result of 
throat trouble; but his heart was always in the right 
place. He was severe in his denunciations of vice, sin 
and crime, but tender and loving in his ministrations 
to the suffering in mind or body. He came nearer 
"hating" the whole whisky business than anything 
under the sun. He let fly his chained lightning at 
"doggeries." He seldom used the word "saloon." The 
other suited him better. And when he limbered up 
and got into his stride, the man who indulged either 
in the buying or the selling, who could hear him 
through and not be ruffled was "past feeling." 

His knowledge of prominent Baptists, of the North 
and East especially, was remarkable. I gathered much 
valuable information from him concerning many 
whom I never saw, but of whom I know much. His 
fatherly advice to me was timely and helpful. I shall 
always recall him as one of my "fellow-helpers." 

There is Rev. Elkanah Spurgeon. He came from 
Tennessee to Carroll county and served as Pastor 
through a period of several years. He was very clear 
and strong in his presentation of Bible and Baptist 
doctrines. He was well advanced in years when I 
first met him and gradually gave way in his work to 
younger men. I shall always remember him as an 
earnest conscientious man of God. These three men 
have long since gone to their reward. 
5 



66 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

There is Rev. G. L. Black who served Carrollton 
as Pastor and Missouri Valley Association as adviser 
for a long term. He was a sane, safe man. He was 
preeminently endowed with common sense and old- 
fashioned gumption. He had a genuine case of "old 
time religion." He was educated by three Boone 
county men, but his education did not rob him of his 
common sense, dilute his gumption, nor in any way 
change the type of his religion. 

His preaching was practical. He kept his eyes and 
ears open and gathered material for sermons from 
the things around him. This gave his sermons a 
freshness that people always enjoyed. He could "suck 
a sermon" out of a fellow quicker than any man I ever 
knew. I have gone into his study to talk with him. 
He would ask me what I had preached about or was 
going to preach about. He would look out of the 
window for a while, then turn to his desk, take a stub 
pen and in a few minutes he would have written out a 
''skeleton'' which, in all probability, he would put flesh 
and clothes on the next Sunday. I used to think and 
I have not changed my mind, that the man who could 
get sermons out of me, could find roses in the desert 
and water in the rocks. 

Brother Black was a wise and tactful man. He 
could handle a "church fuss" or a quarrel between 
brethren as judiciously as any man I ever saw. He 
seemed to know just where, when and how to take 
hold. He rarely ever failed to bring about peace. 
He was a powerful exhorter. He could listen to a 



Taking Charge of Country Churches. 67 

sermon and follow that sermon with an exhortation 
that clinched, riveted and bolted everything said by 
the former speaker. He made everybody think more 
and better of the sermon and that it would be an awful 
thing not to heed it. He was a model preacher and an 
ideal Christian gentleman. As preacher, pastor and 
public servant, he envied no man his position, was 
jealous of none, but loved and helped all and all felt 
that he was a true friend. Missouri Valley Associa- 
tion never had in it a more useful pastor and preacher, 
one who was less self seeking and who was more be- 
loved and honored by all. 

On account of illness, he was unable for several 
years to do any work, but up until his death the "in- 
ner man" was strong and hopeful. With strong faith 
and a warm heart he waited to "hear the keel grate 
upon the shore." Death came as a relief to him, but 
not a surprise. Heaven was enriched when he reach- 
ed it. 

In connection with these preachers I speak of one, 
who, though not a preacher, did a great deal of very 
effective preaching — Deacon L. B. Ely, the best known, 
best beloved, most consecrated, and most efficient lay- 
man in Missouri. When I came to the state I soon 
found his name to be a household word. When I 
asked who he was and if he was a preacher, I was told 
that "he was better than a preacher." After meeting 
the man and knowing his work and his worth, I ac- 
cepted that word picture of him as correct. 



68 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

He made good wherever placed. He had marvelous 
financial ability as was demonstrated in the success of 
his own business and in every other financial enter- 
prise with which he was connected. 

His liberality was proverbial. No needy person or 
cause ever appealed to him in vain. The wonder was 
how he could give away so much and have so much 
left. His explanation was : "I get by giving. As I 
shovel out, the Lord shovels in." 

His clear head, warm heart, strong and ready hands 
made him useful anywhere and everywhere. He could 
do many things and do them all well. As a Sunday 
School Superintendent he had few equals and no 
superiors ; as a teacher he was clear and strong, and as 
a deacon, he was a model. On the platform, he was so 
charming and entertaining that he could hold his 
crowd, it mattered not whether he was talking in his 
church, on the floor of the Missouri Valley Associa- 
tion, or the Missouri Baptist General Association, or 
the Southern Baptist Convention. 

Whenever L. B. Ely, arose to talk everybody wanted 
to hear him. His style was simple, clear and pungent. 
He was apt and resourceful in illustrations, which he 
gathered from all sources. Being a close observer, 
he was constantly seeing and hearing things, which, in 
his skillful way, he would use with telling effect. 

He was a soul winner. He had a passion for souls. 
He could approach people along this line, in such a way 
as to win confidence and affection. When the ear was 
gained, he was ready with his message. In the church, 



Taking Charge of Country Churches. 69 

in the store, on the train, along the highway, this 
man sought opportunities for seed sowing and soul 
saving. Just how many men, women and children 
were reached by him eternity alone will reveal. 

He was a great helper in protracted meetings. Long 
before I became his pastor, while preaching to country 
churches, he would go with me and stay for days. 
Everybody knew him and every home was open to him, 
and all were glad to have him come. He was at home 
with rich and poor, wise and ignorant. He was the foe 
of none but the friend of all. He could sing, pray, 
exhort, preach, go all the gaits and go them well. In 
his efforts to "pull sinners out of the fire" he was 
untiring. 

He was a great stimulus to laymen. They would 
look — listen to this man of affairs. He was not a 
preacher, yet he was right at the front in christian 
work and by example, saying to christian men, all 
around him : "Come on and help in the Lord's work." 
All over the country, brethren, encouraged by what 
he said and did, came out into the open and became 
pillars in Zion. 

No man among Baptists in Missouri did a greater, 
grander work in his day than did this man. His death, 
June 18, 1897, was a great loss to the brotherhood. 
He was missed everywhere and is to this day. But the 
work he loved, into which he put his head, his hand, 
and his heart, goes on. His impress upon hearts, 
homes, classes and conditions, is his monument and 
the love that all had for him and their gracious re- 



70 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

membrance of the man, his message and work, is 
his epitaph which it took him a long time to write, 
but which eternity will not erase. 

Other names, forms and faces, come to me, of 
which I shall speak in loco as I write of my con- 
nection with their respective churches. 



CHAPTER XI 

My Field and My Force 

For several years my labors were confined to Carroll 
county, to churches in the country and to school 
houses. I found the school house to be a feeder to 
the church. I cultivated the field adjoining the church 
in this way. I would usually preach at a school house 
on Friday night, another on Saturday night and an- 
other on Sunday night or afternoon. In this manner 
I came in touch with people for miles around the 
church and let them have a taste of the preaching 
which they were missing in not attending the services 
at the church. It usually had its desired effect and 
many came to church who would never have come 
had I not gone after them in this way. 

My record shows that during my stay in Carroll 
county as pastor of country churches, I preached 
about one hundred and fifty sermons in school houses 
in the county. I would hold meetings in some of these 
and baptize converts into the fellowship of the nearest 
Baptist church of which I was pastor, the church 
having previously authorized me to do so, and having 
authorized members present to receive such for bap- 
tism. In this way the churches "lengthened their 
cords and strengthened their stakes." 

There were many "open doors" and many demands 
for "good preaching" and I tried to meet that demand 
to the full extent of my ability. It kept me "humping 

71 



72 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

it" to keep the hopper full and in spite of all my ef- 
forts the mill would sometimes have "rattling spells" 
and give the people more thunder than lightning. 

I was, however, aided in my efforts by one fact. 
The wants and needs of my field were uniform. What 
was good for one congregation was good for all. So 
I gave all the benefit of the one good sermon prepared. 
This did not help me in developing as a preacher, but 
it did help me in other ways. It did not hurt the 
sermon to repeat it and it was new to those who never 
heard it, nor anything like it. 

But occasionally, just as I announced my text, in 
walked some fellow who had heard that sermon de- 
livered by that same preacher on a former occasion and 
that made the atmosphere a little chilly and made me 
feel like I was facing my audience in an old, well- 
worn suit. 

My sermons were generally moving, soothing and 
satisfying. They moved some, for they went out ; they 
soothed some for they went to sleep; they satisfied 
all for they said : "enough." They had one redeeming 
quality, a quality that is greatly in demand even now. 
They were crude in structure, weak in logic, minus 
in rhetoric, poor in grammar, faulty in scripture quo- 
tations, but they were short. They had to be short, 
for material was short. That feature of the sermon 
caught the people. They measured sermons then, 
as they do now, by an indefinable, intangible, non- 
entity; a line and that, never reached upward or 
downward, but longward. The sermon might have no 



My Field and My Force. 73 

depth, no heighth, no breadth — these deficiencies were 
all atoned for by the absence of length. The hearer 
might not be able to tell you where or what the text 
was, what the topic was, what the thought was, but 
he could very readily tell you whether the sermon was 
long or short. If long, it was condemned, if short, it 
was complimented. 

I have never been able to tell why sermons are sub- 
jected to this one rigid test and other deliverances are 
not. Why is it, that a man can sit on a very uncom- 
fortable seat and listen to a political harangue almost 
indefinitely and never think of time, or eternity either 
for that matter? He can sit on a barbed wire fence 
all afternoon and watch a baseball or football game in 
the broiling sun and never whine. But put him on a 
cushioned pew — in a comfortable church, with electric 
fans fanning him and if the entire service from pre- 
lude to conclude goes beyond one hour in length, he 
is huffy and vows he will never go back until that 
preacher shortens his traces. There must be some- 
thing wrong with that man; either mentally, morally, 
or anatomically, possibly, all combined. What he is 
going to do with, or in, Eternity, endless, and all of a 
whatness, the Lord only knows. Of one thing I am 
positively certain — he never will shorten it or change 
it. 

In this writing, I am not unmindful of the fact that 
sermons ought to have a conclusion. There ought to 
be a "lastly" and that should never be in the middle, 
nor too near the beginning, but at the end. The old 



74 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

rules in Homiletics were three interrogations : When 
to begin? What to say? When to quit? I readily 
learned the first for I aimed to begin on time. I had 
not much trouble in my early ministry with the third, 
but the second has been the bane of my life. It is 
natural to suppose that the longer a fellow lives, the 
more he will learn, and the more he learns the more he 
will have to say, and the more he has to say the longer 
it will take him to say it, and the longer it takes him 
to say it the longer will be his "say." This is my 
apology for violating the third rule in my later years. 
My first charge was Mt. Zion church, six miles 
north of Carrollton. In this church I placed my mem- 
bership when I came to Missouri in March 1870. This 
church called for my ordination in April, 1872, having 
called me to serve as pastor. The membership was 
not large but numbered some devout and devoted men 
and women. Here I labored for two years, preaching 
on Saturday and Sunday once each month. During 
my pastorate I preached seventy-eight sermons and 
baptized ten persons. 

I enjoyed the fellowship of Chester Allen and fam- 
ily; Lewis N. Rees and family; Tom Morris and 
family; Thomas Brandom and family; Sam Clink- 
scales and family; Warren Minnis and family (Meth- 
odists) ; and Morris Carter and family. These were 
royal people. I was at home with them. They en- 
joyed my coming, my staying and (possibly) my go- 
ing. 



My Field and My Force. 75 

They worked together well and many were the 
precious meetings we held. They knew how to help, 
encourage and comfort the young preacher. It was 
never my privilege to serve a better people. 

This organization has changed its place of worship 
and its name. It is now known as Bogard Baptist 
church. When the Burlington & Quincy Railroad ex- 
tended its line from Burlington, Iowa, to Carrollton, 
Missouri, a station was located a mile or two north of 
Mt. Zion church. Here a town soon sprang up and 
this church acted wisely in moving to this new com- 
munity center. It is to-day a flourishing church. How 
glad I am that this church lived through the blunders, 
mistakes and poor preaching of my first pastorate. 

It must have been endowed with an amazing amount 
of vitality or it would have succumbed under the effect 
of the exceedingly weak diet which I gave it. It is 
astonishing how much some folks' can stand and live 
through it all and come out fat and sleek in the spring. 

It was during this pastorate that an event occurred 
that has influenced every day of my life since. / was 
married. It was brought about in this way: I was 
out here in Missouri attending to my own busines; 
giving my work all my time and attention. A lady, 
whose maiden name was Creel, came to Carroll county 
to visit relatives, so she said. I had known her in 
Kentucky; in fact, we were raised in the same com- 
munity. But I had not seen her for a number of years. 
She came to Mt. Zion church to preaching on Sunday 
morning. She came. I saw, and I was conquered. She 



76 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

took me by storm. I had seen roses in June, violets in 
spring and lilies in August; but, believe me, or not, 
I never saw anything on earth as pretty as that woman 
was that day. Her face looked like a bowl of peaches 
in cream; her hair had a rich, golden glow; her eyes 
were blue and her form was divine. She had an ex- 
pression that looked as sweet to me as a pancake in 
a pool of maple syrup. She was dressed in lavender, 
her favorite color and that soon became my favorite 
color. I could see that woman with my eyes shut. 
I thought about her in my sleep. 

She stayed around in the neighborhood for several 
months and I stayed most of the time where she 
stayed. When she returned to Kentucky, I wanted to 
see the old hills and the old folks and friends and so 
I arranged to go along with her. As we went along, 
we talked about the weather, and the birds and the 
country through which we were passing. But I was 
absent-minded; somehow my thoughts were rooted in 
other soil. I wanted a partner, I needed one in my 
business. I proposed. She was surprised of course. 
She had said she never would marry a preacher. I 
soon overcame this objection by telling her that I 
could not preach to hurt. I asked her to waive this 
objection and she waived. She then told me she 
could not think of leaving her mother and going to 
Missouri to live. I assured her that I would be a 
mother to her, and would let her visit her mother as 
often as she felt she could stand it to be away from 
me. I pressed this case so urgently that she wavered 



My Field and My Force. 77 

and waived again. I was so persistent that she took 
me to get rid of me. 

When I left her and returned to Missouri it was 
with the understanding that we were to be married the 
tenth day of November. I came back to my work dazed 
— all broken up, down and out. I took but little in- 
terest in anything aside from ''dealing in futures." 
How sluggishly time did move. I patronized the 
postoffice liberally. I wrote fully, freely and very 
frequently. When the answers came, I read and re- 
read up and down, inside and outside, and then laid 
the precious document away under my pillow and 
dreamed and wondered if I could live through it all. 

I was then pastor of four churches. It was my pur- 
pose to hold a meeting with each one of them before 
November tenth. 

I began this work as early in the season as possible, 
but I never had such a time in my life closing meetings. 
The interest would keep up for weeks. It looked like 
every sinner in the country was bound to get religion 
that fall and that it took all fall to get it. I closed my 
last meeting on Sunday night, left Monday morning 
for Kentucky, secured my license Tuesday and 
Wednesday afternoon, on December tenth, just one 
month behind time, we were married. When I saw 
that I could not hold my meetings and be married in 
November, I suggested that we delay the matter just 
one month. She agreed to wait if I would be sure to 
come in December. I made good my word and have 
never regretted it. 



78 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

We spent our honeymoon visiting in Adair and 
Green counties and then visited her brother, J. C. 
Creel, who was, at that time, teaching school in Litch- 
field, Kentucky. We then came back to Carroll county, 
Missouri and my time was fully occupied with wife 
and churches. 

Let me say here and now, after trotting along life's 
highway together for forty-two years, no man ever had 
a more loving, faithful, helpful wife than I have had 
all through these intervening years. She has never put 
anything in my way ; she has never hesitated a moment 
to go where I felt it was my duty to go ; she has never 
had a cross word with one member of any church to 
which I have preached ; she has done well her part in 
making the home comfortable and cheerful. Every 
day I have felt grateful for such a suitable companion 
and am going to keep her and bless God for her just as 
long as I can, for I feel that she is more essential to 
my usefulness and happiness now, than ever before. If 
she is as well satisfied with me, now, as I am with her, 
we are ready to sit in the gloaming of life's evening 
and watch the stars come out, and, as the shadows 
gather about us, to listen for the evening bells that call 
to us from over the sea, where we shall "meet our 
Pilot face to face." 

Another church of which I was pastor at this time 
was McCroskies Creek, eight or ten miles west of Car- 
rollton. I served this church two years, preaching 
sixty-eight sermons and baptizing eleven persons. This 
church had some splendid people in it. They knew 



My Field and My Force. 79 

how to encourage a young preacher. The Keltners, 
Raffertys, Cooks, Andersons, Creels, Beatys, and 
others just as worthy, gave strength and efficiency to 
the body. One boy to whom I preached during this 
pastorate is now the beloved useful Baptist minister, 
J. W. Keltner. His father, "Uncle Phipps Keltner" 
was as true and as uniformly good as any man I 
ever knew. During a meeting held with this church, 
I had an amusing, yet, serious experience. One night, 
at the close of the sermon, a call was made for all who 
desired help to come forward. Several responded, 
and among these were two boys, under the influence of 
drink. I soon discovered that they were there for 
fun, but I said nothing. During the prayer, I was 
watching and I saw them looking at each other and 
laughing and I determined to teach them a lesson 
which they would never forget. So, after the prayer, 
I announced that after the benediction all who so de- 
sired would remain to "labor with the seekers." After 
dismission, all who remained gathered around the 
"penitents" and I had all to kneel down and these boys 
got down on the "marrow bones" of their fast decay- 
ing bodies" and I kept them there for quite a while. 
We had several prayers and most of them "long 
meter." When we arose I called for a song and re- 
quested all who were present to come and "give the 
hand and a word" to those for whom prayer had been 
offered. They all came. They were stirred. They 
held the hand and in love, patted the back. Tears 
flowed freely. These boys were right in the center of 



80 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

that storm. Smiles fled from their faces; shame and 
confusion sat upon their countenances. I enjoyed 
seeing them pounded and hoped it would be well 
"rubbed in" on them. The service closed and we all 
went home. I don't know whether these boys were 
ever saved or not, but I will venture the assertion, that, 
if they ever went forward for prayer after the ex- 
perience of that night, they meant it. 
' But few of the older members of this church are 
now living, but the work goes on. Out of all the 
changes and turmoils of the past, the Lord has brought 
His people and the cause of Christ has as bright a 
future in that vicinity, as the Divine Promise, willing 
and consecrated men and women can make. 

Six miles east of Carrollton is Wakenda Baptist 
church. This church was afflicted with my services 
for five years. It was the strongest Baptist church, in 
the county, in members and wealth, outside of Carroll- 
ton. 

I must have, in some way, gained some notoriety 
when this church called me. I had never preached 
there and but few of the members had ever seen me. 
Yet, in spite of this, I was asked to become their 
pastor. It was a little like courting by mail and 
marrying by telephone. 

In connection with my notification a funny thing 
happened. A committee was appointed to interview 
me and that committee was on the lookout. One Sat- 
urday, being in Carrollton, two of the committee went 
into L. B. Ely's store. My brother was in the store, 



My Field and My Force. 81 

sitting by the stove. Now, he and I looked very much 
alike. We both had the same type of build and beauty 
and were often taken the one for the other. One of 
the committee having seen me, saw my brother and 
said to the other: "There is Brother Hatcher now." 
My brother, true to the family instinct, saw an open- 
ing and used it. The two brethren came up to him and 
one spoke to him, addressing him as "Brother Hatch- 
er" and introduced him to the other brother. He 
"caught on" and "brothered" them around for a bit, 
when the opportunity came for the Solar plexus blow. 

Now, let me say, that none of the Hatcher family, 
especially this generation, ever sprouted wings early 
in life and my brother was no exception to the rule. 
One of the brethren introduced the matter by asking: 
"Brother Hatcher did you know that our church 
called you to preach for us at our last meeting?" Im- 
agine, if you can, the effect that his answer must have 
had on these two men. Looking the brother squarely 
in the face, and with as much seeming sobriety as 
a preacher would have at a funeral he said: "What- 
in-the-d — 1 did-you-do-that-f or ?" The brethren looked 
at each other and then at him. It was very evident 
that they had called the wrong man. My brother then 
laughed and told them that they were mistaken in their 
man, that he was not the preacher, but his brother. 

While serving this church I preached one hundred 
and fifty-two sermons and baptized eighty-eight con- 
verts. In addition to the sermons preached in the 
church, I preached quite frequently at Cotton Wood, 
6 



82 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

Rose Bud, Findley, Pea Vine, and other school houses, 
belting the church. In these school house meetings, I 
extended my acquaintance, tightened my grip on my 
work and increased my usefulness. 

This church had a host of strong men and women in 
it. The Brandoms, Smarts, Everetts, Howlands, Ath- 
ertons, Quisenberries, Nolans, Winfreys, Haines, 
Reas, Lowrances, Kennairds, Dixons, Millers, and 
others, just as good. It was an inspiration to me to 
serve such a body. 

Without disparaging others, I must speak of a few 
particularly, John Brandom was the Superintendent of 
the Sunday school. He lived five miles from the 
church, but rarely ever failed to be there on time. 
Through heat and cold, wet and dry, he came and 
brought his family. His work grew and he grew with 
it. At the time of his death, some years afterward he 
was the most prominent layman in his Association. 

He was deacon in his church, moderator of the 
Sunday School Convention, and had represented his 
county in the State Legislature. 

His house was the preacher's home. His family 
took delight in making the preacher feel at home. His 
wife knew how to make good coffee and biscuit, and 
had the nicest preserves uhm ! yum ! yum ! yum ! His 
family of girls was a treasure. There was not an ugly, 
dull, or lazy one in the bunch. They have all grown 
to womanhood and each is doing what every sensible 
woman should do — making a man happy in her own 
home. 



My Field and My Force. 83 

After a long time and many disappointments a son 
was born in the home and "his name was John," named 
for his father. I never knew the son as I knew and 
nursed the girls, but as a worthy son of a worthy sire, 
I gladly give him his rightful place in the family. The 
widow of this good man yet survives him and is a 
benediction to her children and her friends. 

David Haines and wife oft refreshed me. I never 
had truer friends. Sister Haines gave me the first 
baptizing pants I ever owned. As she looked at me 
one chilly November day, while I was baptizing some 
candidates, she had compassion on me. She invited 
me home with her to dinner. After eating, as I was 
leaving, she handed me some bills and told me that 
she was tired seeing me shiver in the water and she 
wanted me to get some rubber pants. Having worked 
pretty hard that day, I did not have the strength to 
refuse, so I accepted the money and for years enjoyed 
the comfort and convenience which her generosity 
brought to me. 

Her husband, "Uncle Davie," as he was familiarly 
called, was an impulsive man and somewhat eccentric. 
During the same baptismal service, in which the sym- 
pathy of his dear wife for me was awakened, he was 
moved in another way. The day being chilly and the 
water much colder than the air, it was quite a shock 
to go down into the stream. One of the candidates, a 
large, overgrown boy, danced around on his toes and 
puffed and gasped for breath. It took quite a little 
while for him to become sufficiently composed, to re- 



84 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

ceive the ordinance. While he was gyrating around 
and I was bathing his face trying to get him in proper 
condition. "Uncle Davie" would shout: "Why don't 
you souse him under? Why don't you souse him 
under?" After the service was over, I asked him 
why he acted in this manner. His answer was : "I 
couldn't stand to see you shivering and that great big 
calf bellowing around without saying something. I 
didn't see why you didn't souse him under and be 
done with it." 

At another time during a similar service, I baptized 
a woman who, for years, had been dissatisfied with 
what she had received for christian baptism. The 
weather was cold and the candidates were taken to a 
house near-by to dress themselves. "Uncle Davie" 
was assisting them into the wagon used for their con- 
veyance. 

When this woman came up out of the water, she 
came out shouting. The consciousness that she had 
really obeyed her Lord filled her soul with joy. But 
her shouting was checked, for "Uncle Davie" came up 
and said : "Tut ! Tut ! Too cold for any of this here, 
wait until you get to the fire." He was as religious in 
these quaint things as in any duty he performed. 

He was treasurer of the church and took delight 
in managing the finances of the church in a business- 
like way. He opened an account with the bank in the 
name of "Wakenda Baptist church" and did all his 
paying by checks. He did his own collecting. He 
lived on the "State Road" and he watched diligently 



My Field and My Force. 85 

for "delinquents" and seldom did he let one go by 
without giving him the "distress signal." 

It was during this pastorate and in the early part 
of it, that I learned an important lesson. When called 
to serve the church, I was asked what remuneration I 
would expect. I felt a delicacy in putting a price on 
myself. It involved responsibility that I did not care to 
shoulder. So I said to the brethren: "You know me 
and my circumstances. You solicit the membership 
and report. If it is enough, I will accept it ; if it is not, 
I will quit." Nine months passed before the deacons 
made their report and when it was made, the church 
was told that all of eighty dollars was subscribed but 
some of that was not good. True to my word, I 
told the church I could not serve for that money. If 
I had to preach for eighty dollars a year, it would be 
to an eighty-dollar church, and that my service would 
end the next day. In the afternoon "Uncle Davie" and 
"Uncle Dick Q^iisenberry" came to see me and as- 
sured me that they would be responsible for one 
hundred and twenty-five dollars, if I would serve the 
church until the year expired. I accepted the propo- 
sition and at the end of the year, I was asked what 
salary I wanted. I unhesitatingly and without any 
compunctions of conscience answered : "One hundred 
and fifty dollars." I had not lost faith in God, but 
must confess that my faith in the brethren had been 
"jolted" a little and that my faith in myself had grown. 
Since then I have never failed to "put a price on my- 
self" when taking charge of a church. 



86 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

Another home that I visited at any time that suited 
my convenience was the home of Frank Lawrance. 
The atmosphere of that home appealed to me. Its 
hospitality was boundless; its fellowship was the 
sweetest and it was always full of sunshine and good 
cheer. The family consisted of father, mother, four 
sons and one daughter. There were other children who 
had gone out from the old home and had started 
homes of their own. 

Shortly after I became acquainted with the family, 
the mother died, but the family was held together by 
the firm, yet gentle and loving hand of the father. He 
came as nearly being mother to his children as it is 
possible for a father to be. 

He could cook, wash, iron, keep house and do it all 
very lady-like. He was always glad to have me stop 
with him and I was always glad to stop. He never 
put himself to any extra trouble on my account. He 
just killed a few chickens, sometimes a sheep; made a 
cake and some pies; sometimes ice cream — anything 
along this line that he thought the "Parson" 
would relish. He was a resolute man, very 
much so. When I saw him laying his plans for 
a meal, I never protested or in any way interfered. I 
just let nature take its course and tried to please him 
by eating what was set before me. 

The fireside was a circus. In pure fun and innocent 
frolic, in wit, humor and repartee, I have never seen it 
surpassed. It was as much a specific for the "blues" 
as quinine is for chills. It was not mere froth and 



My Field and My Force. 87 

foam, that could be puffed away with a breath; but 
cheerfulness that had warmth and vigor in it that made 
it stick and stir and fertilize. I always felt that it was 
as beneficial to me as a sun bath on a chilly day. 

The old home was broken up years ago. Father, 
mother and one or two of the boys have passed from 
this life, but that home, with its good cheer, its 
christian hospitality, and its genuine fellowship, will 
live in my memory. The face and form of Charlie, 
Ellie, Harvey, Bob, Mose and Susie will always have 
a place in my mental album. Some of them I married, 
some I baptized and all of them I loved devotedly and 
hope to meet them all in the "Home over There. " 

In the summer of 1872 I accepted the care of 
Hardin church in Ray county on the Wabash Railroad 
west of Carrollton. During this pastorate of about 
three years I preached forty-eight sermons and bap- 
tized fifty converts. The Lord blessed my labors in 
this hard field. It was a rough railroad town and sin 
often appeared in violent form. On the fourth of July, 
the same year of my introduction to the people as 
pastor, two men were killed in this town and the 
murderer was taken from the hold-over by a mob and 
hanged the next day. This was quite a shock to the 
community and especially to the pastor. But with 
faith in God, I threw myself into the work. In August 
I held a very successful meeting with the church, 
during which a striking coincidence occurred. The 
day I was twenty-six years old I baptized twenty-six 
converts in Crooked River south of the town. The 



88 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

night before the baptizing took place we had in waiting 
twenty-three candidates. Knowing that the next day 
would be my birthday, I was anxious to have three 
more. So I announced at the close that night, that an 
opportunity would be given next day to any who 
might desire to unite with the church and be baptized, 
and lo! three came prepared and were received and 
baptized with the others, thus completing the de- 
sired twenty-six, one for each year of my life up to 
that day. 

Time has wrought many changes in that vicinity. 
The old meeting house which stood one mile southeast 
of the town, which was built and used as a "Union 
church" is no more. The Baptists have a neat com- 
modious church building in the town and a vigorous 
membership. But the personel of the membership has 
so changed that there is not one there now who was 
a member during my pastorate. 

Some years ago, it was my privilege to preach to 
the congregation then worshipping there, and I called 
the roll and only one of the number received during 
my pastorate responded. Another illustration of the 
truth of the old saying: "The workers drop off or drop 
out but the work goes on." 

I recall an amusing incident that occurred during 
my pastorate at this place. It occurred on our Sat- 
urday meeting. The parties to it were two, the sexton 
and a dog. Some dogs, you know, will go to church, 
and unlike some people, when they go, they go in and 
stay until the service is over, if they are allowed this 



My Field and My Force. 89 

privilege. This aforesaid dog, belonged to this breed. 
He had come in and come in to stay. But while I was 
preaching, the aforesaid sexton discovered the pres- 
ence of his dogship and at once made up his mind to re- 
move that dog. He got up and instituted proceedings in 
that direction. He moved quietly and cautiously,, 
but as he moved the dog moved, not towards the door, 
but to the other side of the house. The sexton got 
the broom and "shood" the dog around from corner 
to corner. I saw it was to be a fight to the finish, so 
I stopped and stood still and looked on. We all 
looked on in breathless silence. The old brother got 
up on a bench and reached over to tap the dog, when 
the bench tilted and over he went, flying squirrel 
fashion and fell across about three benches. He was 
not long in getting up, and when he regained his foot- 
ing and his equilibrium, his eyes were blazing, his jaws 
were set, and determination to get that dog out then 
and there was written on every feature of his face and 
in every attitude of his form. The broom was cast 
aside and the sexton went after that dog, hammer and 
tongs. Finally he was brought into close proximity 
to the canine and he made a long, strong, successful 
reach and landed one open hand on that dog's anatomy, 
just where the caudal appendage makes connection 
with the hind quarters. Fortunately this dog was of 
the wooly kind and the sexton fastened his fingers 
on that tail done up in all that wool. He knew the dog 
was tied on to that wool and he was thus tied on to 
that dog. All the anger, determination, and hatred 



90 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

for church-going dogs, was gathered, concentrated 
and at work in the grip that that sexton had on that 
dog. The hold that one bull dog has on another, that 
grim death has on a dead nigger, was no stronger, than 
the grip that had gripped that tail and the wool that 
accompanied it. With a look of triumph on his face, 
with the measured tread of the conqueror, the sexton 
walked to the door and standing in the doorway, he 
held doggie out at arm's length, and relaxing his hold, 
let him fall and as he came down, out went his foot 
which met the descending dog and landed him, all in 
a' heap, about ten feet, out in the church-yard. 
He quietly walked back and took his seat in the 
audience and the preacher took up the thread of his 
discourse and the service was concluded decently and 
in order. I never saw that dog in that church after 
that day. The last heard of him was a yelp, growing 
fainter and fainter in the distance which seemed to 
say : "Farewell, old church, I am going home." 

Another church to receive the brunt of my inex- 
perience was Moss Creek church, eleven miles south- 
west of Carrollton. I served this church about five 
years, preaching one hundred and fifty-two sermons 
and baptizing fifty-four candidates. During my pas- 
torate, the church erected a new building at a cost of 
$1500 and every dollar of it was raised before the 
house was dedicated and not a dollar was called for on 
dedication day. The church was located in the Missouri 
River bottom, as rich as the Nile. It was surrounded 
by a splendid lot of thrifty enterprising people and was 



My Field and My Force. 91 

at one time the most vigorous church in the Associa- 
tion. 

This was one of my longest and most pleasant 
country pastorates. I baptized some who were young 
then, but are now, strong men and women in the 
ranks of the Lord. The only church of which I was 
ever pastor, that had its entire membership present in 
one church meeting was this church. 

I lived twenty-seven miles from this church and 
drove this distance, once each month for nearly five 
years. I would start on Friday and get home Monday 
night. Had the song been written and had I known 
it, no doubt, "It is a long, long way to Tipperary" 
would have been a favorite with me. 

I enjoyed the home life of these dear people and must 
select a few from the many of whom I make special 
mention. T. A. Welch was a deacon in this church 
and one of the most conscientious, consecrated deacons 
I have ever known. He never missed a meeting of his 
church unless sick or from home. He did his part in 
every thing. His home was the pastor's home ; always 
glad to have him come and just as glad to have him 
stay. He was a stirring farmer, and made farming a 
paying business. His balance wheel was "Lizzie," his 
wife. He used to say that whenever "Lizzie" left 
home he always had her to hang up one of her old 
dresses where he could see it. 

To me, Deacon Welch was a humorist. He could 
say more droll comical things than most men and his 
actions were sometimes as ludicrous as his words were 



92 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

humorous. I remember being at his house once upon 
a time and he was trying to separate some hogs which 
were in his barn yard. The ground was quite muddy 
and sloppy. He was paddling around in that slush, 
to my amusement as I sat on the woodpile watching 
him. He would drive the hogs nearly to the gate 
when they would turn around, look at him and then 
run by him. He endured this treatment for a while 
without a word. I was listening for something to be 
said worthy the occasion and finally it came. He had 
driven them up to that -gate about the fourth time 
with uniform results. Now as they turned and looked 
at him, he said : "I never saw a hog in my life that had 
its head on the right end. If they had their head on 
the other end, they would go right out that gate." 

I could not refrain from laughing. The whole scene 
was ludicrous to me. There stood that little man 
with his short legs scarcely long enough to reach the 
ground in perfectly good humor trying to offer a be- 
coming apology for the stubbornness of his swine. The 
swine seemed to appreciate the spirit of the man, for 
the entire herd reversed positions and went out that 
gate without a word. 

He was an uncompromising Baptist and a loyal 
Democrat. He used to say : "Whenever you see a man 
who is religiously a Baptist and politically a Democrat, 
you have found a man as nearly right as men ever get 
this side of Heaven." 

His wife, "Lizzie" was one of the most uniformly, 
gentle and sweet women I have ever known. I never 



My Field and My Force. 93 

saw her at home or elsewhere, when she seemed to be 
the least bit ruffled or off her balance. Her face was 
always bright and her spirit as cheerful as sunshine. 
She was a loyal, loving wife and a motherly mother. 
With her children she was in authority but reigned 
and ruled in love. It was harder to grieve her affec- 
tion than to defy her authority. These good people 
were my warm, personal friends. They are both now 
in heaven, but I shall ever cherish their memory and 
look them up when I reach the glory land. 

John Winkler and wife, Mord Wilson and wife, 
Mrs. Lindsay and family, Ezra Cox and sisters, Frank 
Winfrey and family, Sanford Smith and family, Eng- 
lish Smith and family and many others, just, tried and 
true, were all my fellow helpers. I enjoyed their fel- 
lowship, appreciated their hearty support and very re- 
luctantly severed my connection with them. I fre- 
quently meet the fruits of my labor on this field. Some 
years ago I preached in the First Baptist church of 
Pueblo, Colorado. As I entered the vestibule of the 
church I came face to face with a woman who looked 
at me and then rushed to me and taking me by the 
hand exclaimed: "Isn't this Brother Hatcher?" When 
told who I was she said: "You baptized me thirty- 
three years ago at Moss Creek church south of Car- 
rollton." When baptized she was Miss Romane 
Blankenship — I remember, being told, after baptizing 
her, that in her I had baptized the champion dancer 
in North Missouri. 

It gave me untold pleasure to meet her, after the 
lapse of years and to find her holding out faithful. 



CHAPTER XII 

A Village Preacher 

Having been country bred and born I always felt 
kindly toward the country and a little cold in my 
feelings toward villages, towns and cities. I never saw 
a town until I was about twelve years old, and I re- 
ceived a complete knock-out on my first visit. I had 
gone with my father and was sitting on a bench in 
front of the store in which my father was trading. I 
was watching the people as they passed along. But 
few took any notice of me and I thought it was because 
I was a country boy and they felt themselves above 
me. As I was nursing my wrath to keep it warm, 
a typical town chap come along. He stopped and 
looked right into my face and said : "How are you, 
big nose?" I sprang to my feet and doubled up my 
fist, whereupon my inspector said with some modula- 
tion in his voice: "What made that hump on your 
nose?" I wanted to be polite, so I answered his 
question by saying: "I fell on a sled runner." The 
answer was true but not the whole truth, so my in- 
spector came back at me with this question: "Did all 
the Hatchers fall on sled runners?" This question 
showed a knowledge of my family and our family 
features, that I was forced to respect, and inasmuch 
as it now assumed family proportions, I thought it 
wise to let the family settle that score. The lad went 
his way down the street whistling a tuneless melodv 

94 



A Village Preacher. 95 

and I, for fear of another jolt, went into the store and 
stayed until time to go home. The effect of that ex- 
perience did not bring me any closer, in my sym- 
pathies, to town people. 

When I entered the ministry this old prejudice as- 
serted itself and I was very shy of towns and town 
churches. I wanted to do the Lord's will but I did 
not want Him to give me any town work to do. But 
in following the path of duty, I have had to go to 
many places where, at first, I did not want to go and 
do a great many things which at first I did not want to 
do. 

So in this case. In May, 1874, having been called, I 
took charge of De Witt church, for half time. This 
was a village of about three hundred inhabitants, lo- 
cated near the eastern boundary of Carroll county on 
the north bank of the Missouri river. It had ad- 
vantage of both river and railroad and was quite a 
business point. 

The church was in bad condition when I took charge 
of it. During the previous summer a great hurrah 
meeting had been held in the town and nearly two 
hundred members had been taken into the Baptist 
church. They came in pell-mell, helter-skelter, any 
way and every way. Some got in without knowing it. 
This great mass of untempered mortar had no training 
whatever. The church was pastorless for nearly a 
year. The natural result was the scattering of the 
sheep; some strayed off; some became infected with 
foot rot; some had heart disease; some cold feet and 



96 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

but few answered the call for service. During my 
pastorate of three years, we had to open the "back 
door' quite frequently. About one hundred were ex- 
cluded from the fellowship of the church, during 
the time and others would have been, could they have 
been found. Many, according to "Brer Rastus," could 
have proved an "Alibi. " An alibi, according to "Brer 
Rastus" is : "Whar yer tries to sho dat yer wus at 
er prayer meetin' whar yer wus'nt, in order ter proove 
dat yer wasn't at er crap game whar yer wus." 

I soon found out that all the good people were not 
in the country ; that men and women could breathe the 
town air, live the town life and yet be true men and 
women of God. With much fear and trembling I took 
up this work so new to me. Here I had my first ex- 
perience at house-keeping. Having married in 
December before, I lived with my mother until May 
following when I moved to De Witt. It did not take 
much to move me for I did not have much to move ; 
myself, my wife, a feather bed given by my mother, a 
trunk and it not full, and a chair or two about com- 
pleted the inventory. We rented a two-room house, 
and it not painted, never was and never will be. I had 
but little money, for my salary all told was only $450 
a year. But I had credit. So we went to buying in 
order to furnish the two rooms. We ate our first meal 
off a goods box and put our dishes in a "safe" made by 
my own hands and nailed to the wall and curtained by 
my wife. We bought things piece at a time with 
some time between pieces. In course of time we were 



A Village Preacher. 97 

"at home" to our friends. What we had was not 
fine, but new. One floor was carpeted, not with brus- 
sels, nor axminster, nor plush, but with wool and 
cotton mixed and the cotton more in evidence than 
the wool. We had a nice rocking chair, and as we 
were "newly weds" we only needed one, for obvious 
reasons. Which-ever one of us got that chair first 
had to hold the other one, according to agreement and 
wife nearly always beat me to it. She enjoyed being 
"sit down on" as much as I did. 

We had a few pictures and some bric-a-brac, im- 
provised by my wife's skill, and this relieved the walls 
of their barrenness. I papered the room myself and 
was proud of my job. Here we lived as snugly and 
as happily as we ever lived anywhere. It was home 
to us; our harbor, our resting place. Here we were 
ourselves, with ourselves, and for ourselves. We were 
free and easy and hopeful as to the future. Our peo- 
ple were unstinted in their efforts to make us feel 
at home among them. 

Having a pastor among them and he married to such 
a woman, was a new experience for this church. There 
were some choice spirits in this flock; some of them 
brought in during the great meeting of which I have 
spoken. They were true blue, all wool and a yard 
wide. Among these was A. J. Shockley. He was one 
of the pillars in the church. He took us into his home, 
as members of his family, until we could get our "nest" 
in order. His wife was a noble, motherly christian 
woman. They were blessed at that time with two 
7 



98 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

sweet little girls. Minnie and "Frank." During my 
pastorate, "Frank" died from the effects of measles. 
I have kept in touch with this family through these 
forty and more intervening years and have witnessed 
the coming and going of sunshine and shadow. He 
moved from De Witt to Jefferson City and Jack 
Shockley" was soon known all over Missouri. He was 
prominent in church and in state. He knew how to 
combine politics and religion in such a way as to help 
his politics and not hurt his religion — a rare gift. It 
was my privilege to visit him and family while they 
lived in the capitol. As far as he was concerned, the 
"Keys of the city" were mine ; his horse and buggy 
and himself, all at my disposal. 

I recall an amusing statement which he made dur- 
ing my visit. It was during the noted Dr. Tanner's 
fast. He was demonstrating the fact that a man could 
live forty days without eating. The whole country 
was watching with growing interest this contest. It 
had reached the twenty-seventh day. People were 
wondering if he would make it , some doubted ; in fact 
most people did. But Shockley at the time referred to, 
said : "I believe he'll make it, for our pastor often goes 
thirty days." Reverend T. W. Barrett was pastor at 
the time, and to look at his small, slender form one 
might think that "Jack" had told the truth. In this 
connection I will state, that a few years ago, while in 
Long Beach, California, I heard this noted Dr. Tanner 
lecture. I sought an introduction and told him how 
refreshing it was to me, put out of business, and two 



A Village Preacher. 99 

thousand miles away from my base of supplies, to take 
by the hand and look into the face of a man who had 
lived forty days on wind. I "thanked God and took 
courage." 

While in Jefferson City, Sister Shockley died and 
her remains were taken to De Witt and laid by the side 
of little "Frank." I was called upon to bury her. It 
was a sad duty, for her going was a great personal 
loss to me. 

Brother Shockley found his second wife in Jefferson 
City ; a most excellent woman. After his second mar- 
riage he moved to Carrollton, Missouri, where I be- 
came his pastor the second time. Time had wrought 
no change in the man, for I found him to be the same 
loving, loyal brother. He afterward moved to Joplin, 
Missouri, where he lived until his death which oc- 
curred some two or three years ago. I was called to 
preach his funeral which I did, in the presence of a 
large crowd of people made up of representatives from 
all walks and conditions in life, showing how deeply 
and generally he had rooted himself in the affection 
of the people of that city. 

His widow and two children by his last wife survive 
him, two having passed away. His daughter Minnie, 
his oldest child and she the fruit of his first marriage, 
is yet living. She is one of God's noblest women; a 
very successful school teacher, having filled with high 
honor and very great credit to herself, important 
places in public school work. 



100 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

Hiram Jaqua was another valuable man in this 
church. He was converted late in life but did his 
part well when he enrolled as a christian and church 
member. His wife and daughter, Allie, were also effici- 
ent helpers. Their home was always open to the pastor 
and his wife. In person and in purse this man made 
himself useful. He and family moved to California 
and I have lost sight of them entirely, but in the list 
of those who were my constant co-workers in my 
De Witt pastorate, I shall always give this family its 
well-earned place. 

While in De Witt, Dr. J. S. Logan was our family 
physician. He was a unique character^ He was 
broad and varied in his religious views. He could be 
at home in any church for his beliefs were so numer- 
ous that he had enough of each kind to give him a 
family resemblance in any brotherhood. At heart he 
was a Universalist, but that did not keep him from 
working on a narrower platform. He came into the 
Baptist church before I took charge of it and continued 
a consistent and helpful member during my stay. His 
family, consisting of wife and three boys, John, Tom 
and Willie, were my warmest friends. The hospitality 
of that home was of the unfailing kind. Many a time 
the pastor and his wife were taken into that home and 
kept day and night. No woman was more helpful 
to my wife during that pastoral period than was 
Sister Logan. 

Dr. Logan was a well-read man and what he read 
he retained and used whenever needed. He could quote 



A Village Preacher. 101 

as much scripture as any layman I ever knew. He 
took great interest in politics and had the honor of 
serving his county in the State Legislature. He had 
a large practice, to which he gave close personal at- 
tention; he was kind hearted and generous. He gave 
his services to me and my wife, free gratis, for noth- 
ing. 

In this connection I want to say a word about Doc- 
tors in general as I have known them. I have reasons 
for thinking well of these gentlemen as a class. They 
took me in hand when I was very young and very 
small and obeyed the Scriptural injunction: "Deal 
gently with the young man." They started me on the 
"milky way" to which I adhered until I was sup- 
planted by my successor. They have had me in hand 
much of the time since and I am yet alive in spite of 
them. I expect to be on their hands when I die — if 
I live. 

They have been exceedingly generous with me. 
They have given me frequently and largely of all their 
remedies; also their personal service and all without 
money and without price. 

Whether it was because they regarded what they did 
as being worthless, or because flowers are not sup- 
posed to grow in Sahara, or snowballs in the tropics, or 
blood in turnips, we will let them say. At any rate 
but few bills have ever been presented and fewer col- 
lected, yet, no fuss has been made over it for they 
have kept quiet and I have followed the example they 
set before me. They may be looking forward to the 



102 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

judgment day, hoping to get a settlement then. If so, 
I hope they will not wait until then, for that is going 
to be a very busy day with me and with them also. 
Better put it the day after. They have served me 
well in life. They greeted me first on earth and may 
greet me first in heaven, provided any of them are 
there. Some have their doubts about it, for the Good 
Book says: "No sickness there" and where there is 
no sickness, the doctor is not much in evidence. If he 
should locate where sickness is not, he does not tarry 
long. 

At the rate these gentlemen are going, it will not 
be long, until, in this respect, we will have heaven on 
earth. They seem determined to banish disease and 
sickness from the face of the earth. I, for one, am 
perfectly willing for them to do it and am willing to 
help them by keeping well as long as I can. 

I here and now promise them never to knowingly, 
willingly, and with malice aforethought to diet on 
bacteria, bacillus, germs, microbes or anything akin 
to these health destroyers. I may have dieted on these 
things but it was before I knew they were loaded. If 
I had been informed earlier and not eaten them at all 
I might have lived much longer since I was born than I 
have lived. 

Returning to the subject of this sketch, I will say 
that Dr. Logan was very neat in his personal ap- 
pearance. His linen was always immaculate, his cloth- 
ing brushed and pressed and his shoes highly polished. 
He always rode or drove a nice horse and it neatly 



A Village Preacher. 103 

groomed. I remember seeing him ride down the street 
one day, looking just like he was out of a band-box. 
I thought I would have a little fun, so I called to him : 
"Hello, Doctor, going to see a patient?" He answered: 
"yes." "Well," said I, "when must I come and preach 
the funeral?" He saw the point, laughted heartily and 
rode on. You see, doctors, preachers and under- 
takers, form a sympathetic combination. When the 
doctor makes a mistake, the undertaker covers it up, 
and the preacher holds religious services while it is 
being done and there the matter rests. 

The good old Doctor and his dear wife have long 
ago left this earth ; the old home is broken up. 

Upon his son John, the mantle of the father has 
fallen, for he is practicing his father's profession 
among the people who knew and loved his father so 
well. His son Willie has been one of the energetic, 
successful merchants of De Witt for years. His other 
son, Tom, has faded from my view. I am unable to 
say whether he is living or dead. 

I recall a sad experience through which wife and 
I passed in this home. We had a very malignant type 
of whooping cough in town. During one week, my 
wife washed and dressed for burial, four babies, the 
victims of this disease. The only child of young 
Doctor John Logan contracted it. Wife and I staid 
with them and one night, I walked the floor nearly 
all night long with that child in my arms. In response 
to good nursing and close attention the child recovered. 
A few years ago I preached in the Tabernacle church, 



104 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage 

Kansas City. Rev. S. M. Brown was pastor and at 
the close of the service, a beautiful woman came to 
me and said: "Do you know me?" I said: "No, if I 
ever saw you before, I don't know when nor where." 
She said : "I am Beulah Logan. Do you remember the 
night you walked the floor with me in your arms?" I 
looked her over and said: "Well, I could not do that 
now." She then introduced me to her husband and I 
told him he was indebted to me for his wife. 

Another family, deserving special mention was the 
family of Olman Gwinn. He was a deacon and filled 
the office well and was ably assisted by his worthy 
wife. The church, its services and its work, were 
kept in mind and had warm supporters in these good 
people. One of the sons in that home, A. S. Gwinn, 
is today a useful Baptist minister. It was my privi- 
lege to assist in his ordination and preach the sermon 
on the occasion. It was a time of great rejoicing in 
his family and among his friends. 

The Post-master, Squire Ruckle, was another strong 
factor in the church. He and wife and daughter were 
especially thoughtful of pastor and wife. He had a 
lovely country home out a short distance from town. 
Here wife and I were always welcome and many 
were the days and nights spent happily in this retreat 
by us, chickens, pies, cakes, and other "goodies" were 
always in evidence when we were there. 

The one family with which we were most intimate, 
was the family of C. H. Weltner. Here we boarded 
and roomed for more than a year. It was home to 



A Village Preacher. 105 

us. Brother Weltner was a merchant and did a large 
business. His wife carried on the millinery business 
in her husband's store. She was very companionable 
with my wife. They were very similar in tastes and 
congenial in spirit. There remains only one of this 
family to-day. Brother and Sister Weltner are both 
dead, but their son, Frank, is at the head of a musical 
conservatory in St. Louis and is regarded a fine teach- 
er and splendid pianist. 

I must mention Charlie Harvey and his wife and 
two children, for this man and woman, wife and I 
have cherised a deep affection for more than forty 
years. Harvey was not at this time a Baptist, but be- 
came one in Kansas City during my pastorate there. 
His wife and my wife were like sisters and are to 
this day and will ever be. They worked together 
nicely and each was good to be with when the other 
had the "blues." 

On the honor roll, as members of this church, and 
helpful to its pastor, were Ed Fisher and wife, Elias 
Perry and wife, Brother Sanderson and wife, Brother 
Kline and wife, Anderson Williams and wife, Volney 
Williams and wife, Brother Davis and wife, and others 
just as worthy and just as helpful. These all labored 
and loved, and most of them have changed worlds 
and when I meet them I am sure we will enjoy talking 
over our experiences in De Witt. 

My record shows that during this pastorate, I 
preached one hundred and sixty-six sermons and bap- 
tized nineteen persons. 



106 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

During my stay with this church, we built and paid 
for a house costing about $1600. This house stands 
to-day, the best church building in the town. 

I recall one strange wedding I attended during this 
time. I was papering a room and a little girl came 
and handed me a note. The writer of the note re- 
quested me to come at once and marry him. I washed 
my hands, brushed my hair and started, the little girl 
piloting me. She took me to the home of a widow 
in the town and took me in the back way. When we 
entered the kitchen a woman with a hop in her walk, 
met me. She was sixty-three years old and a grand- 
mother. After a moment a young man came in. He 
was nineteen years old. I was informed that this was 
the couple that I was to marry. I looked at them, and 
asked myself the question "Ought I to marry them?" 
It was not a suitable match according to my way of 
thinking, yet I knew of nothing to render it illegal. 
I thought if they were suited, it ought to suit every- 
body else. It was not my funeral, therefore I was not 
expected to furnish the corpse. So there, in the kitch- 
en, I said the words that made that grandmother and 
that "kid" husband and wife. The next morning, as 
I went along the street, Major Wallace said to me: 
"Parson, what about that wedding you had last night?" 
I said to him : "Well, I think the old lady will raise the 
child if he don't take the croup." Be it said that this 
couple lived happily together for more than two years, 
when grandma died. What became of the young 
man I never knew. 



A Village Preacher. 107 

I recall my first steamboat experience. There was a 
freight boat running up and down the Missouri river 
in connection with the Wabash Railroad, getting wheat 
and other freight from points that were inaccessible 
to the railroad. The young people of the town got up 
an excursion to Waverly and wife and I were invited 
to go along. We were always fond of young people 
and their company and wanted to go but I was afraid. 
I was afraid we might have a steamboat disaster. I 
am a deeper water Baptist but I never want to get be- 
yond my depth. But we went. When we went aboard, 
all were merry except myself. I was very nervous. 
When the boat swung out into the channel and started 
up stream my temperature began to go down and my 
heart began to sink. I saw the many snags for which 
the old turbid stream is noted, pointing right to the 
boat, thicker, apparently in the current than fingers 
were on my hand. I did not see how it was possible 
to dodge all of them, but we did. I went into the en- 
gine room and talked with the engineer. He took 
pains in showing me how strongly the boat was built. 
A bell would jingle and he would respond, by turning 
a wheel or pulling a lever. He was obeying the orders 
of the pilot . I saw there was vital connection between 
the man at the wheel and the man at the engine. I 
began to feel better, I began to have faith in the boat. 
I went up into the pilot house and talked with the 
pilot. He never took his eye off the stream nor his 
hand off the wheel. I soon discovered that he under- 
stood his business and I felt better. I now had faith 



108 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

in the boat, in the pilot and in the engineer. I had 
assurance as the result of testing things. 

When I came home I was singing as lustily as any 
of them. I have often used this experience to show 
that feeling does not save, nor fear destroy. If you 
are on the right boat, with the right pilot and engineer, 
your safety is assured regardless of your fears, and if 
you are on the wrong boat, with an untrained pilot 
and reckless engineer you are not safe, it matters not 
how you feel. 

While speaking of the Missouri river, I am re- 
minded of the only time I ever baptized a man in 
sections. He was a very tall man, over six feet. I 
was baptizing him in this treacherous stream. A few 
feet from where we stood, the water was whirling and 
away beyond over depth. He could not swim and I 
did not want to. When I got him about half way 
under, up he came. I could not prevent it; he was 
stronger than I. I had to try again. Next time just 
as his head went under, out came his feet. Head and 
feet were not immersed all at once, but one at a time. 
But I called it valid if it was done in sections. 

The years given to country and village work had 
left their marks upon me. Exposure to the rigors of 
Missouri winters and the heats of her summers had 
affected me physically. I never had a rugged consti- 
tution and have often wondered how I endured the 
physical hardships that these years put upon me. 

I reached a point where the pains of neuralgia and 
the pangs of rheumatism were my daily companions. 



A Village Preacher. 109 

I saw the necessity of condensing or concentrating 
my work. I was spending too much time getting to it 
and getting away from it and not enough time with it. 
But how to do it I did not know. The solution of the 
problem came in a way I had not anticipated and 
opened another chapter in my life. 



CHAPTER XIII 

A Town Preacher 

One morning, in my mail, I received a letter from 
Rev. J. C. Armstrong, then pastor at Miami, Saline 
county, Missouri, telling me that he was going to give 
up the care of that church and asking me if I would 
entertain the idea of being called to that work. He 
plead with me to consider this matter well, and stated 
the advantages that that field would give me over the 
one in which I was working. Several things influ- 
enced me in making up my mind to encourage 
him in his efforts to have the church consider my 
name, in connection with the calling of his successor. 

I felt that it would give me more time for study, 
which I so much needed. I believed that it would help 
me to take better care of myself and enable me to build 
myself up in body and soul. I longed for an opportu- 
nity of concentrating all my powers on one place and 
one people. And I will say, though it may seem mer- 
cenary, that the new proposition meant about $300 
more salary than I was getting and this I greatly need- 
ed. So, to sum up, in favor of the change, there was 
the prospect of concentration of time, energy, in- 
creased usefulness, improved health and increased 
wealth. On the other side there was in evidence my 
old time prejudice against the towns and town work. 
In addition to this, there were two interrogation 
marks ; one was : Could I fill the place ? I considered 

110 



A Town Preacher. Ill 

the caliber of former pastors, Dr. A. P. Williams, 
Rev. Wm. M. Bell, Rev. Geo. W. Rogers, Rev. J. C. 
Armstrong, and others just as great and in the light 
of these, it looked like presumption for me to think of 
taking up work that they had given up. 

I always had the notion that it was better for a little 
fellow to be in a little place and fill it so full that he 
would bulge the sides and bottom and hang over the 
edges, than to get into a place that was so much bigger 
than he was that he would rattle as he was thrown 
from side to side ; better be pinched for lack of room, 
than to be bruised and battered on account of excess 
of room. 

Another question that would bob up was : "Will they 
fit me?" Taking a church is a little like marrying; 
both parties must be satisfied, each with the other. 

I had had some experience with village work, but 
would I take to town work? It meant a great deal 
more personal, house to house work. It meant deeper 
digging and constant grinding. No more "turning the 
barrel," but a new barrel, eight new sermons every 
month instead of two, and where were they to come 
from? I wrestled hard with the proposition and 
finally decided, to go if called. I thought the church 
was old enough to know her wants, and had sufficient 
experience in supplying her wants to justify her in 
making her own selection. I knew I was not a 
stranger to the Miami saints, and would just let them 
do all the courting, then if there was a mistake made 
it would not be mine. So the church proposed and I 



112 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

accepted and in January, 1878, I entered a pastorate 
that extended through five years and ended at my 
volition. A brother who visited me after I had given 
up this charge said to me : "Hatcher, why do you leave 
people who love you like these people love you ? They 
cannot speak of your going without shedding tears." 

I said to him: "It is better to leave them sad than 
glad. It is better to leave them, knowing they want 
you to stay, than to stay until you know they want 
you to go." My rule has always been to stay until 
I feel that my work in that place is done, and until 
that conviction comes, never to consider any induce- 
ment to go elsewhere. I never felt justified in looking 
around for a job, while I had work on hand. If a man 
keeps his eyes on the work in hand he hasn't much 
time to prospect for something bigger or better. I 
was tested in this matter during this pastorate. 

Rev. B. G. Tutt resigned at Marshall to accept the 
care of Liberty church. The Marshall church called 
me at a salary of $1200 a year. I was receiving $800 
a year in Miami. I did not consider it for a moment, 
because I felt there was work in Miami that I could 
do, was doing and ought to do. So I declined to ac- 
cept the call. I learned afterward, that a man in 
Miami who was noted for his skeptical views, offered 
to bet a five-dollar hat that I would accept the call 
and nail down that four hundred dollar increase in 
salary. I of course, knew nothing of this until after 
I had given my decision. So I was not influenced 
in any way by his proposition. But having found it 



A Town Preacher. 113 

out, I was mighty glad that my course in this matter 
was such as to impress this gentleman with the fact, 
that some things appeal to ministers as money does 
not. 

During the time I served this church, I preached 
four hundred and thirty-seven sermons and- baptized 
forty-six members. In addition to the sermons 
preached in Miami during this period, I assisted in 
a meeting at Waverly, Shiloh, Good Hope, Fairville, 
Union, Bethel, Marshall, Salt Pond, Slater, Higgins- 
ville, Fish Creek, Shackleford, and Carrollton, preach- 
ing three hundred and thirty-two sermons in these 
meetings, thus totaling seven hundred and sixty-nine 
sermons during the five years. My field for work was 
concentrated and enlarged at the same time. 

I was not long in finding out the difference between 
being pastor of one church, giving full time and at- 
tention to that one, and being preacher of three or 
four and visiting them once in each month. The dif- 
ference is as great as is the difference between living 
with people and being one of them, and visiting 
them, at regular intervals. I could now put myself 
into the Sabbath school, the prayer-meeting, the home 
life and the business life of all the people. I could 
give close, personal, continuous attention to the things 
that had to do with the bettering of the spiritual, tem- 
poral and social conditions of the people whom I 
served. 

This necessitated close application on my part. I 
had to look out for the prayer meeting and try to keep 



114 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

it lively and interesting. I had to prepare two sermons 
each week and sometimes three, besides funerals 
freely thrown in. To furnish all this grist I had to 
keep something in the hopper and to do this I had to 
read, study and rummage around at a lively rate. 

But it did me good. I needed just this kind of work 
I needed constant pressure. O, how I worked and 
watched and prayed! How I studied the people in 
order to know their wants and their needs, and then, 
how I worked to give them what they needed and 
how eagerly I watched for results. 

I had a good class of people to work on and to 
work with. It was an old town, of about 1000 popula- 
tion and had a splendid country around it. They were 
well to do people and well informed. The church, 
under splendid former leadership had been well 
trained in giving and living and were in active, in- 
telligent touch with all denominational work. They 
were not only receptive but responsive. I got more out 
of them than they got out of me. These five years 
left a rich deposit in my mind and heart that has been 
of incalculable value to me ever since. I know better 
how to do a great many things than ever before. It 
was good schooling for me in handling church prob- 
lems, in managing people, in dealing with the way- 
ward, for in all this I had at my disposal the sense, 
religion and experience of wise, good and tried men 
and women. 

There was N. J. Smith, a deacon and for years the 
Superintendent of the Sunday school, who was a 



A Tozvn Preacher. 115 

choice Spirit. He lived five miles from the church, 
but was always present, in spite of heat or cold, mud 
or dust, and always brought with him a bright face 
and a warm, courageous heart. He had a charming 
wife, interesting children and a lovely home, in which 
warm, old-fashioned Kentucky hospitality abounded. 
To have him come in and take the pastor and his wife 
out to his farm and keep them a few days, was about 
as good a vacation as pastor and wife could crave. 
This dear man and his wife are now in heaven; his 
family is scattered, one son living in Saline county, 
one in the state of New York, one in Dakota, two 
daughters in California. Each of these children car- 
ries the fruit and fragrance of that home out into the 
world. 

Side by side with this deacon was W. H. Wheeler, 
or "Harry" as he was familiarly called. He and his 
wife "Jane" were strong factors in the life of the 
church and community. What was said of Zacharias 
and Elizabeth in the olden time could be truly said of 
them : "They were both righteous before God, walk- 
ing in all the commandments and ordinances of the 
Lord blameless." 

I recall, distinctly, the first time I ever saw this man. 
I had gone to Shiloh to assist Reverend J. C. Arm- 
strong in a meeting. When I reached the church door, 
some one was praying. I became interested in that 
prayer. I located the source from whence it came. 
When all arose I looked, for the first time upon the 
face and form of Harry Wheeler. To me he looked 



116 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

and acted like a preacher and I so placed him, but 
was told, that day, that he was a deacon in Miami 
church. I felt then and feel now, that Miami church 
was fortunate in having such a deacon. He and his 
good wife are yet alive and doing their part in keep- 
ing the cause of Christ alive in their home, their 
church and the town in which they have lived so long, 
Another couple, that impressed the town and com- 
munity was Deacon C. W. Pendleton and wife, two 
of the best, purest, most helpful people I have ever 
known. Sister Pendleton could see and do more 
things that ought to be done yet were overlooked by 
others, than any person I ever saw. She and her hus- 
band were active yet unassuming. They were ab- 
solute necessities. In their home, in the homes of 
others, in their church, in all its work, they were 
recognized as indispensable helpers. When Sister 
Pendleton was buried, her remains were followed to 
the grave by the longest procession I ever saw in 
Miami, and in that procession were lawyers, doctors, 
preachers, merchants, men, women, and children, 
white and black, and hardly a one in mat vast throng 
who had not been helped in some way by that good 
woman. She was a duplicate, in her life and work, of 
"Dorcas" of Bible times. It was her delight to put her 
life in helpful touch with all who were about her. 
Her husband survived her a few years and then fol- 
lowed her into "Glory Land." The two daughters yet 
live ; one, the wife of Dr. J. C. Armstrong, now living 
in Kansas City; the other, a widow, Mrs. Robinson, 



A Town Preacher. 117 

also in Kansas City. These noble women in life and 
character are answering the prayers of their sainted 
parents. 

Another very useful, and to me a very essential man, 
was Henry Boyer. He was a splendid business man, 
and was the treasurer of the church. I found it 
convenient to visit his store quite often, and seldom 
came away empty handed. 

He could generally tell when I was about out and 
about what I needed to keep me going. It was not 
always on hand, but he "walked by faith and not by 
sight" and I tried to encourage him to keep it up. 
He taught the teachers in the Sunday school for sev- 
eral years and then became the Superintendent, filling 
that position with credit to himself and with profit 
to the school. In his home life he was blessed with 
a loving wife and four interesting children, two of 
whom I baptized during my pastorate. The comforts, 
conveniences and fellowship of that home were very 
inviting to pastor and wife and many hours were spent 
by them under that hospitable roof. 

The church and community, many years ago, gave 
up this dear family. Brother Boyer moved to Mar- 
shall, Missouri and then to Florida. It was my good 
pleasure, some years ago, to run in on him, in his 
place of business in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a 
complete surprise to himself and family to have us 
before them. In our hurried itinerary we could 
only stay a single day with them, but every moment of 
that day was well spent. We have never seen the dear 



118 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

ones since that day, but keep them in loving, grateful 
remembrance. 

G. R. McDaniel was also a deacon in this church 
and filled the office well. Wife and I had a fine op- 
portunity of knowing this man and his family for we 
lived with them for several months and our close, 
constant, association only increased our admiration. 
We loved them as we loved our own. The wife, many 
years ago, went to her reward, but husband and 
children, yet live, and their lives are fruitful in bless- 
ings for others. 

Another home in which we lived was the home of 
Mrs. Sallie Taylor. Here, for one year we enjoyed 
the home life of mother and her five children. She 
was a mother. Wife and I took some lessons from 
her in raising children. We did not know but what 
we might need them some time. She loved her chil- 
dren, and enjoyed them and wanted them to be 
happy and all that, but behind love and sympathy 
was authority that had to be respected. 

Sometimes her rulings were seemingly severe, but 
the fruits of it all are seen in the men and women 
she gave the world ; one the wife of a commercial 
traveler in Kansas City, making^his heart and home 
happy. Another the honored, helpful woman who 
presides over the home of the moderator of Blue 
River Association; another a missionary among the 
foreign population in Florida. 

Her two sons are merchants in California, and the 
mother lives to enjoy the fruits of her labor among 
her children. 



A Town Preacher. 119 

The list of true helpers would not be complete 
without the name of Reverend W. M. Bell and 
family. He had been for years, pastor of the church 
and when I was called to the work, he put himself 
under me and behind me and helped me to go and 
to get others to going. He was an all around man. 
He was farmer, florist, orchardist, nurseryman, berry- 
man, dairyman and preacher man and could go all 
these gaits in blue ribbon style. In business and 
religious circles he was known all over the state ; 
as an honest, honorable man, true to his convictions 
and uncompromising with error. His preaching was 
plain, straight talk, based on the Word of God. 

I recall a sermon I heard him preach. The text 
was : "In hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment." 

He made three points: 1. There is a hell. 2. 
There is a man in hell. 3. There are others on the 
way to hell. 

His voice was heavy and he had a way of shaking 
his head when aroused. In this sermon he roared 
and shook his locks. I never heard anything so 
startling in my life. It looked like we were all sitting 
on kegs of powder with fuse attached and the parson 
striking a match to touch the thing off. It had its 
effect. The brimstone that that sermon put into the 
air, so fumigated the mind as to put an end to some 
skeptical bugs that had crept in. If a preacher ever 
gave his hearers what his text called for, Parson 
Bell did that thing on this occasion. 

Brother Bell, as pastor, was gifted with long con- 
tinuance. He served Good Hope church about forty 



120 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

years and old Union nearly as long. He moved 
around among these people like a father among his 
children. It was my pleasure to assist him in a meet- 
ing in each of these churches and I could but notice 
the intimacy, confidence, sympathy and affection that 
bound pastor and people, and I concluded that "long" 
or "short" pastorates must be determined by pastor 
and people. Where the bonds exist, as in this case, 
the longer the better; but, where there is no fitness 
and no cohesion, the sooner there is a separation the 
better for both parties. 

Brother Bell's home was a haven of rest and a 
social benediction. Beautiful grounds and a large, 
airy, roomy house appealed to the passer-by. To this 
was added the warm hospitality and the attractive 
personalities within. Sister Bell and her daughters 
knew as much about making the home as Brother Bell 
and his boys knew about making the farm. No one 
ever received the hospitality of that home and en- 
joyed its sweet fellowship that did not long for his- 
tory to repeat itself. 

The old home has changed hands; the old house 
has been destroyed by fire ; the dear old people are 
at rest and the family is scattered to the four winds, 
but the impress of that family and the in- 
fluence of that home will outlast the ravages 
of time and will be clearly revealed in the "Last 
Day" in those who were helped by these faithful 
servants of God. 



A Town Preacher. 121 

To mention all the good people in and around 
Miami at the time of my sojourn among them would 
require a census of the town. The Andersons, Guth- 
ries, Burns, Snellings, Menefees, Booths, Taylors, 
Minors, Keefers, Gradys, and a host of others just 
as worthy, all have a place in memory and affection 
and flood my thoughts of the five years lived among 
them with light and joy. 

My associates in the ministry were genuine coin. 
We were congenial and had great times when thrown 
together. When B. G. Tutt of Marshall, J. S. Conner 
of Slater, D. C. Bolton of Fairville, B. E. Harl of 
Fish Creek, W. M. Bell of Miami, J. L. Tichenor of 
Napton, Wm. Vardeman of near Fairville and G. W. 
Hatcher of Miami got together, there was something 
doing. In our fifth Sunday meetings we were drawn 
together to plan our work and discuss and settle 
great Bible and religious questions and we settled a 
good many of them; "Who was Melchisedec? "Who 
was David's mother?" "Where did Cain get his wife?" 
"How do you reconcile Divine Sovereignty and Free 
Agency?" "When was the church established?" All 
of these and many others just as important, were 
settled by us to the entire satisfaction of the brother 
who discussed the proposition, and would, no doubt, 
have remained settled to this day had there been no 
meddlesome, busy bodies to recuscitate the knocked 
out and raise the dead and thus bring to naught the 
results so gloriously achieved. Had these let "well 
to do alone," and not revived issues so deeply buried, 



122 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

the brethren of to-day, instead of discussing these 
same questions, could be putting in their time in lead- 
ing the Lord's hosts out into greater fields of use- 
fulness. We tried to avoid all this by putting these 
knotty questions beyond the confines of discussion, and 
if the brethren had only let what we fixed stay as 
we fixed it, there would have been great conservation 
of resources. 

A suitable classification of this ministerial aggrega- 
tion would be difficult, but among ourselves we rated 
as follows : J. L. Tichenor was the logician ; B. G. 
Tutt was the suave, christian gentleman in the pulpit 
and out of it; J. S. Connor, the master of elocution; 
D. C. Bolton the pure in heart and life ; Wm. Varde- 
man, the warm hearted; W. M. Bell the father of 
us all ; G. W. Hatcher noted for his leanness and his 
meanness. 

As I write these lines the thought almost over- 
whelms me that of this company only three of us 
remain. In the toils and conflicts of a common cause 
we were welded together, hand to hand and heart 
to heart; we sowed, reaped and rejoiced. For a 
little while we are parted, but the separation will 
make the meeting all the more delightful. Heaven 
is all the nearer and dearer on account of their go- 
ing. I will sooner know "what it is to be there," 
when I have had a little time to talk it over with 
these dear friends who will have found out before I 
get there. 



A Town Preacher. 123 

In Miami I had sunshine and shadow; some moun- 
tain top experiences and some "dark valley" days. 
The seventh day of October, 1878, was a Pikes' Peak 
day. On that day wife and I were highly honored 
by the coming of a visitor that we had looked for 
and longed for for years. The Stork Came! It was 
a boy! It was a bouncer; Looked like father. The 
doctor and the good old women who graced the occa- 
sion had no trouble taking care of the mother and 
the boy, but father: What was to be done with a 
man who was stepping around on the top of telephone 
poles, and shouting "Dad! Dad!" just to hear how it 
sounded. I never was drunk in my life ; I never took 
laughing gas ; never felt the exhilirating effects of any 
intoxicants, but if any of these stimulants or all of 
them combined can surpass the effects of the stork's 
visit, I wonder how people live through it. The 
"next morning" is not to be mentioned the same day 
with this experience. 

It was quite a while before they brought father to 
the point where he could be trusted to take a look 
at his off spring. He sat down and they laid a great 
bundle of quilts and flannels in his lap and left him 
to find his son. He had no experience in unbundling 
bundled babies. He did not know which was head 
and which was foot and the package was not marked. 
At a venture he opened one end and lo ! a little, red- 
face all twisted up and two tiny little fists, both trying 
at the same time to get into the little mouth. I looked 
at him ; I rolled him over and around ; I wanted to 



124 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

hear from him; I did not wait long. He turned 
out one husky yell that almost made me jump. I then 
knew that it was a sure enough baby and a live one. 
The yelling kept up, and I got up and gave baby 
up and got out and went up town and people looked 
at me and I could almost hear the working of their 
mental machines as they would look at me and then 
think: "What is the matter with Hatcher?" 

It was soon noised abroad and then, everywhere 
I went I was met with: "How's the boy?" and similar 
questions. In a day or two congratulations came 
pouring in. All the neighboring towns had been in- 
formed and Uncle Sam's Postal Revenue was con- 
siderably augmented. The first important step was 
to name the baby. Wife had anticipated the event 
and had in cold storage, a couple of names, one for a 
girl and the other for a boy, for she was sure it 
would be one or the other. Don't know what she 
would have done had it been both. When the sex 
was announced, she said: "His name is Percy Bell 
Hatcher." It was so recorded. The middle name 
was for Brother Bell of whom we were both very 
fond. 

The child grew and developed and became more 
dear and interesting each day. He flooded the home 
with sunshine for he was a bright, jolly little fellow. 
The days were crowded with cute things which he 
did, all of which were noticed and told to the neigh- 
bors as they called. They excused us on the ground 
that it was our first. I remember dear old Brother 



A Toam Preacher. 125 

Holman, when told that I had "waked the baby up to 
see it laugh" said: "Well, he won't wake up the 
next one to see it laugh." 

Percy Bell was spared to us seventeen months, 
and on the day he was seventeen months old, he was 
suddenly taken from us. The night before, croup 
developed and at sunset the next evening his short day 
closed. It was a heavy blow to us. The little, cold 
lifeless clay, in the casket was the wreck and ruin 
of all our plans concerning the child. The hearse, the 
grave, the funeral, the burial, all marred and spoiled 
the picture that fancy had painted. But in it all 
we were sustained by a divine power. We were grate- 
ful for the gift; loved, enjoyed and appreciated him 
while he was with us, and when bereaved there came 
with the sorrow a spirit of submission and resigna- 
tion that enabled us to see light in darkness, and 
to hear above the rush and roar of the tempest, a 
still small voice that is sweeter than all the voices 
of earth. Percy is still our baby boy and "some time, 
some where" we shall see and have and hold him 
again. 

The 27th day of July, 1880, brought another cloud 
over our home and another sorrow into our heart. 
On that day my brother, W. D. Hatcher, passed 
away. He had been an invalid for more than two 
years and had, during the time, made my house his 
home. It was my privilege to care for him, and 
his helplessness and long continued weakness bound 
him to me as infancy binds the child to its mother. 



126 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

On the date above mentioned, the struggle ended 
and triumphantly he passed away. The life he had 
lived, the victory he reached in death, that from 
which he had been taken, and that into which he 
had gone, thoughts of these assuaged our grief and 
stayed our tears. In the "city of the dead" in Miami, 
little "Percy Bell" and his "Uncle Billie" sleep side 
by side. Some day a voice will pierce their tombs 
and the sleeping ones will awake and arise, to perfect 
in eternity a companionship that began in life and 
continued in death until death was swallowed up 
in victory. 

In closing this chapter I must chronicle a decisive 
battle fought and won in this old town. Like other 
towns, it had been cursed by the saloon and its busi- 
ness. By moral suasion and education, sentiment 
against this traffic had been created which resulted in 
its banishment for a time. After months of sobriety 
and the quiet and peace which always follow, a little 
man, little in soul and body, decided to break up this 
monotony. 

It is astonishing what big ideas little folks some- 
times entertain; what big jobs little people lay out 
for themselves. It was so in this case. Without 
consulting the town authorities, this little man rented 
the room that had been used for saloon purposes and 
opened up his business. There was much opposition 
provoked at once, but no immediate action was taken. 
On Saturday, after the saloon was opened, the effect 
of the business was visible in men staggering along 



A Tozvn Preacher. 127 

the street and yelling as they raced out of town. 
About eighteen men in the town, deacons, doctors, 
elders, and business men, drew up an article, ad- 
dressed to this little man, in which his attention was 
called to the fact that he was running his business 
without the sanction of the municipality and in op- 
position to the will and wish of the people and in 
which he was politely asked to close up and avoid 
trouble. Another week passed and Saturday brought 
the usual crowd to town and by noon "booze" was 
asserting its power all along the main thoroughfare. 
In the afternoon the signers of this modern "Declara- 
tion of Independence" got together and in a body 
marched down to that saloon. It was an honorable 
body of men. There were in it three Baptist deacons, 
one or two elders in the Christian church, merchants 
and doctors ; the bone and sinew of the town. 
They walked right in and one of the number, 
addressing the little man behind the bar, called 
his attention to the fact that he was operating 
without town license, and had been requested to close 
up which he had failed to do. "Now," said the speaker, 
"We have come to have you lock that door right now 
and turn the key over to us. If you refuse, we are 
here to lock it for you." The little man put his thumbs 
in the arm holes of his vest and said: "Gentlemen, I 
guess you will have to lock it." The words were hard- 
ly out of his mouth, when one strong, fearless man 
reached over the bar and seized the little man by the 
collar and somebody shouted: "To the River." See- 



128 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

ing that his bluff would not work the proprietor wilted 
and told the committee if they would release him, he 
would lock up and deliver the key to them, which 
was done instanter. Sunday morning, the saloon- 
keeper, smarting under his defeat, secured a rig and 
went to Marshall and consulted a lawyer in regard to 
his course of procedure. The lawyer wanted to know 
who was making the fight on him and his business. 
He handed the lawyer the notice served on him by 
these men. The attorney scanned it closely and said : 
"My friend, I know every one of these men. They 
are cool, conservative, yet determined men ; they mean 
business and my advice to you is to get out of Miami. 
You are too near the river. They will duck you as 
sure as you are a man if you do not." He came back 
and Monday morning called these gentlemen together 
and told them that he was willing and ready to sur- 
render, but having put all his money into his stock, 
he could not get his family out of town. On hearing 
this these gentlemen furnished the money with which 
to buy transportation for himself and wife and he went 
away a much sadder and it is to be hoped, a wiser 
man. No man ever ventured to play that game in 
that town afterward. Drastic measures sometimes 
have to be used to meet drastic emergencies. 



CHAPTER XIV 
A Town Preacher in a Bigger Town 

The "unexpected" not only "happens in Kansas," 
but in Missouri as well. When I had done my do in 
Miami, and lifted that church as high as I could reach, 
I gave it up. That has always been my rule. As long 
as I could feel that I was accomplishing something 
worth while, I was contented to stay. It mattered not 
how hard the field, how great the difficulties, I labored 
on. But when I reached the point where I could see 
no progress, a conviction, which I could not shake off, 
seized me, that in justice to the cause in that place, I 
ought to give place to some one who could do what I 
was not doing. It was not a question of where I 
should go, or how I was to live, but whether I should 
hinder the doing of what I could not do and possibly 
some one else could do, by holding the position. I 
always left my field in the interests of that field as I 
saw and understood the situation. Guided by this con- 
viction, based on a knowledge of the field and its re- 
quirements, and on a proper estimate of my ability, 
I always took this step. To this day I have no occa- 
sion to regret a single change that I have made. Time, 
the great revealer, has shown that I was wise in so 
doing. In no case would I undo what was done. 

After serving Miami to the best of my ability, I 
reached stagnation in church life. I could not get 
9 129 



130 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

things to go. I loved the people and they loved me, 
but I could not remain for the sake of loving and 
being loved in return; neither could they afford to 
keep me. 

The church, its growth and efficiency had to be 
lifted above all personal considerations. I was far 
from thinking that what I could not do for the grand 
old church, no body could do. I was not so discour- 
aged as to think, if I could not do more there, I could 
not do anything anywhere. But feeling that another 
man could take up what I could no longer keep up 
and do more for it and with it than was possible for 
me, and that I could find another field where I could 
do as much and possibly more than I had done there, 
I surrendered the charge, much to my sorrow, and to 
the sorrow of the entire church and community as 
far as I know. 

When I resigned, I knew not where I would locate. 
I had done no looking around. My resignation was to 
take effect in three months, thus giving the church and 
myself time to do some prospecting. 

At this juncture, the "unexpected happened." Car- 
rollton, in Carroll county was hunting a pastor. Short- 
ly after my divorce from Miami had been decreed, the 
Carrollton Baptist church began to court me. The 
first thing I looked into was the character of the pro- 
posal. Was it a mere compliment, or a flirtation? 
When I found out who was pressing the matter, I 
very readily saw that it could not be insincere. I 
then considered the proposition from another angle. 



A Town Preacher in a Bigger Town. 131 

Could I fill the bill? These Carrolltonians had known 
me ever since I became a Missourian. The first night 
I ever slept in Missouri, I slept in Carrollton under 
the roof of Brother G. L. Black and I have been in 
touch with the town and church ever since. 

Brother L. B. Ely came over to talk the matter 
over with me and urged me to consider it well. He 
did not flatter me, neither did he color too highly 
the field to which I was being invited, but in a straight- 
forward brotherly way told me that in his judgment, 
I was the man for the hour. I appreciated his feeling 
in the matter, but hesitated to accept his judgment. 
The fact stared me in the face, that Carrollton was 
four or five times larger than Miami, and to spread 
myself over that much extra territory would make 
the coating very thin. In addition to this, I knew 
that Carrollton being a town of over four thousand 
people, must be townier and tonier than a town one- 
fourth its size. So there I was gripped again by 
that old anti-town feeling that my town pastorate 
Kid not entirely eliminated from my system. If I 
could not make it go in the little town, how could I 
expect success in the larger town? "If I had run 
with the footmen and they had wearied me, how 
could I contend with horses?" These and kindred 
questions pressed themselves upon me. Something 
said "go;" other things said: "don't go." By way of 
relieving myself of burden and responsibility, I said: 
"These people know what they want done and they 
know me and my experience and my weaknesses and 



132 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

if they call me, I will accept. I will let them decide 
it." 

The call speedily came and I promptly accepted and 
in January, 1883, I entered upon a pastorate that 
continued six years. These were years of toil and 
anxiety, but years of pleasure and profit to myself and, 
I believe, to the church as well. During this period, 
according to the record which I have faithfully kept 
during my entire ministerial life, I preached five 
hundred and forty sermons and baptized one hundred 
and sixty-three persons. 

In addition to pastoral work in the town, I held 
meetings at Big Creek, Lexington, New Salem, in 
Boone county, Mexico, Morton, Linneus, Richmond, 
and one in Kansas, preaching in these meetings one 
hundred and seventy-two sermons, making seven 
hundred and twelve sermons preached during the six 
years. 

During the first year wife and I lived in the home of 
brother Sam Turner. It was a real home to us. We 
were treated as members of the family. The old 
people were father and mother to us and the children 
were as brothers and sisters. There was never a 
"jar" during the entire year. Nothing but peace and 
good fellowship. When our own room became lone- 
some and monotonous, we would go down and "chat" 
the family. There was always mirth and sun- 
shine on tap in that circle. Brother and Sister Turner 
were congenial and fond of joshing and joking each 
other, much to our amusement. 



A Town Preacher in a Bigger Town. 133 

I remember a laughable incident that occurred one 
day. The telephones were just being introduced 
They were trying to inaugurate a system in that town. 
On the day in mind Brother Turner came home at 
noon and said to his wife : "Mother, they are trying 
to induce me to have a phone put into our home." 
"What will it cost?" asked mother. When told, she 
said: "Why don't you have it done?" "Because," 
said he, "it will cost us twice that amount." She want- 
ed him to explain himself, whereupon he said: "We 
will have to have two, because one will not take it as 
fast as you talk it." It was a hit, for the dear old 
sister, like most of the sisters, was a great talker and 
did not deny it. 

Wife and I tired of boarding. We wanted a home 
of our own, but houses were scarce. My wife grew 
restless and made up her mind to change things. Now 
when a woman reaches this conclusion, things are 
very apt to be changed ; if not in one way they will in 
another. When the Baptist church was built, it was 
built on the east end of a beautiful lot donated by 
brother L. B. Ely. The west end was held in reserve 
for a parsonage. My wife set her heart on having 
that parsonage. She went to the deacons with it. It 
was not the first time they had had their attention called 
to it. They treated her nicely and dismissed the mat- 
ter from their minds. 

But she was not dismissed. She came again, with 
both feet and her full weight. She told them if that 
parsonage was not built we would live in a tent on 



134 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

that lot. She would not listen to the cry of hard 
times, and other excuses made. These deacons dis- 
covered the fact, that that home for the preacher had 
to be built, or that preacher would have to get another 
wife, or the church would have to get another 
preacher. 

So the parsonage was built that spring, a nice six- 
room, two-story building, and to Mrs. Hatcher chiefly, 
the honor was due. It was comfortable and commodi- 
ous and became headquarters for all our people. The 
pastor and wife felt more settled in mind for they had 
a settled home, one they could love and care for as 
they would their own. She was mistress on the in- 
side and I was "Boss" on the outside, where I spent 
a great deal of my time for reasons that every married 
man will understand and appreciate. 

Having a home furnished us, wife and I took pleas- 
ure in it and in keeping it. I took great interest in 
the lawn. There were no shade trees in the yard. I 
am a dear lover of shade in hot weather. It suits my 
temperament. I never feel better thajn when the 
thermometer is one hundred and three in the shade, 
provided I can be in the shade with the thermometer. 
So I put out some young maples. They all lived and 
grew and are today massive trees answering well the 
purpose for which they were planted. 

It does my heart good, when I pass that home now, 
to see my successor, enjoying the beauty and comfort 
of that which my own hands planted and cared for. 
How true it is: "One soweth and another reapeth. 



A Town Preacher in a Bigger Tozvn. 135 

Other men laboured and ye are entered into their 
labours." 

In taking up this work in this larger and more dif- 
ficult field, I felt an increase of responsibility that 
made it almost crushing. But I had a large spiritual 
force to help me; a force of which any man might 
justly feel proud. Men and women to whom you could 
tie, for they always stood hittched. There were the 
Herndons, Elys, Trotters, Goodsons, Tulls, Kelleys, 
Carters, Creels, Perkins, Shanklins, Arnolds and a 
number of others who were men and women of force 
in church and civic matters. With these, I labored 
six years. They cooperated with me, supported me 
and cheered me. Nearly all of the "Old Guard" are 
gone. These noble men and women worked together 
and brought about results. The church was strong 
in resources. It had "grace, grit and green backs." 
When the time came to build a new house, it was 
built. During my administration the repairing and mv 
proving the church was undertaken and completed, 
at a cost of more than $1200. The auditorium was 
decorated and lighted in a way that in these respects, 
it is not surpassed in the state. 

The methods of church work were not then what 
they are now. There was not much harness. We de- 
pended more on horse than on harness. A collar, 
names, tugs and a back band, was all we had. We did 
not have any use for "hold-back-straps" for we were 
going up hill but not too fast. We did need sometimes 
some "kicking rigging" but it was not then available. 



136 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

Our rule for doing things was just the simple rule of 
"do it." That always worked. 

When I wanted a thing done, I employed the tactics 
that President Woodrow Wilson is using to-day with- 
out consulting me. I "used other folks' brains." I 
"listened to the voices that called to me." I took the 
leaders into my plans and got them to see and under- 
stand my movements. If we could not get together, 
the matter was dropped and "watchful waiting" was 
my policy. Little did I think at the time, that my 
course would receive such high endorsement. History 
is only repeating itself. It has been said, so often, 
that we have been led to believe it whether true or 
not, that a man who became president of this country 
in its infancy and who did so much to give this gov- 
ernment its form, got his idea of a "Democratic form 
of Government" in an old-fashioned Baptist church 
meeting. Now, here in the blazing light of the twen- 
tieth Century we have another president who is noted 
for his learning, his statesmanship, adopting the same 
method and driving the "Old Ship of State" with 
Baptist Power. No harm done; go ahead! Baptists 
have no patent on their "faith and practice." They 
want everybody to feel perfectly free to do just as 
they do. No imprisonment, fine or censure. Church 
and state will be better off when this is done. 

This church had been well indoctrinated. It was 
"strong in the faith" and loyal to Baptist Principles. 
Here the great battle was fought between the Metho- 
dist on one side and the Baptists on the other. Elder 



A Town Preacher in a Bigger Tozzm. 137 

Jacob Ditzler was the commander of the Methodist 
army and Rev. J. R. Graves represented the Baptist. 
For fourteen days the tide of battle ebbed and flowed. 
The Generals were skilled in all the arts of that kind 
of warfare. 

Sometimes they were at long range, then in close 
quarters; sometimes it was "phantom fighting/' then 
it was slap, bang, knock out who can. 

I heard every word of this debate ; sat right in the 
Amen Corner through it all. Had never attended one 
before and have not attended one since. When asked 
to give my opinion as to the effects of that debate my 
answer is this: The Baptist went on immersing and 
persevering and feeling good over it, while the Metho- 
dist went on pouring, sprinkling and falling from grace 
in spite of the good feelings of the Baptist. 

There was peace after this battle. Both sides 
claimed the victory, but each side knew that the other 
side was squelched. 

During the six years of my work in the town there 
was never a "rumor of war." We worked together as 
far as we traveled together and when we came to the 
forks of the road, it was, "Good-bye brother until we 
meet again," but no "parting shot" was fired. Every- 
body got enough of fight and spite during this discus- 
sion and were ready and willing to quit when it was 
over. 

Personally, I have never been a "fighter" in any 
sense. I have tried to attend to my own business and 
when I got through with that I was always tired 



138 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

enough to quit. I always preached what I thought the 
Bible teaches, without any apology and allowed every 
other preacher the same privilege. As I felt that I 
was responsible to God alone for my preaching, I 
could not conscientiously call into account and before 
the bar of my judgment other preachers, whose 
preaching did not square with my own. So I never 
had any "debates" or "discussions" or "spats" with the 
clergy. No one ever interfered with me and my work 
to such an extent as to warrant the conviction that 
I would be justified in iaying down the trowel and 
sword of the spirit and taking up a club. When this 
became necessary I was willing to turn the job over 
to brethren who were trained in this business and 
equipped for it. 

In all cases of theological "wool-pulling," I was per- 
fectly willing to furnish the theology and let some- 
body else furnish the wool. As a result of this policy 
I have, at this writing, all of my theology intact and 
all of my wool. 

My work in Carrollton was not confined to parson- 
age building and church repairing; other things bear 
my fingerprints that are sources of greater comfort 
to me than the part I took in any material construc- 
tion during that time. 

Of the one hundred and sixty-three persons baptized 
by me and brought into the church through my ministry, 
I can today locate nearly half of them. They are, to 
my personal knowledge, worthy members there, or 
elsewhere, and many of them occupying prominent 
places in church life. 



A Toivn Preacher in a Bigger Town. 139 

I mention especially, Otto Russell whom I baptized 
when a boy, who is now a strong Baptist preacher. 
Having made good in Missouri he is now in California 
and at the front in the Lord's work. I mention also, 
John T. Morris, who is deacon, Bible class teacher, 
moderator of Missouri Valley Association, member of 
Board of State Missions, of Board of Trustees of 
William Jewell College, and of Stephens College also. 
He is, in addition to all this, a man of affairs, being 
one of the leading lawyers at the Carrollton Bar and 
throughout the state. I baptized him when he was a 
boy in his "teens" and in his timidity. He has out- 
grown both. 

I baptized a girl who has attained distinction, not by 
coming to the front herself in preaching and lecturing 
and the like, but by marrying a preacher and helping 
him to preach better. That is what Annie Trotter, 
now Mrs. West, is doing, to the supreme delight and 
entire satisfaction of her husband. I mention one 
other, Geo. Lindsey. I baptized George, married him, 
baptized and married his daughter and hope to be of 
service to the third generation. 

The men and women who were the "bone and 
sinew" of the church when I took charge of it were 
these : The Elys, Herndons, Trotters, Goodsons, 
Perkins, Montgomerys, Crouchs, Creels, Turners, 
Wrights, Shanklins, Arnolds, Tulls, Hales, Cosbys and 
Carters. These and their families were tried and true ; 
Some of them are in the church today. They have 
grown gray in the service but are young in spirit and 



140 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

are bearing fruit and emitting fragrance that makes 
them a blessing still. The most of these have entered 
upon their reward, having left a name and influence 
that is cherished in church and community. Their 
children however are building upon the foundation 
which these so wisely and permanently laid. 

I recall an amusing incident that occurred in the 
beginning of this pastorate. In order that I might be 
able to locate the membership, I called a meeting of 
the old brethren and went over with them, the list, 
furnished me by the church clerk. I began at the 
top and called out the names one by one. Some were 
in California, some in Colorado, some in other states 
and some had died. The facts in each case were noted 
opposite each name. Upon calling a certain name one 
of the deacons said: "Who is that?" I repeated the 
name, whereupon the deacon said : "Why, is he a mem- 
ber? He is in the county jail." I said, "Well, we have 
located him, and the state will look after him. So 
we will turn our attention to others who are not so 
fortunate as to have such faithful guardians." 

About a year and a half before my work closed at 
this place a child was brought into our home in a 
providential way. Since the death of our own little 
"Percy Bell" in Miami, our home had been childless, 
to our sorrow. One day, a representative of the New 
York Orphan's Home came to town and announced 
that in about four weeks he would bring to that town, 
from that home some orphan children. He selected 
three representative citizens who were to pass upon all 



A Town Preacher in a Bigger Town. 141 

applications made for these children. The object of 
this was to make sure of a good home for the child. 
The children were brought and reached Carrollton on 
Thursday night. My wife had thought of our child- 
less home and these homeless children and after pray- 
ing over the matter had decided to take a little girl, if 
she found one whom she thought she could love. 

On Friday morning, following the arrival of these 
children, I started to our fifth Sunday meeting. As I 
left home, wife said to me : "you may find a baby here 
on your return." I told her "I was not much surprised 
at anything that happened in these days and times." 
She went to the courthouse where the children were 
on exhibition. On the way she decided to take a little 
girl and if her name was not "Mary" she would 
change her name and call her by that name. The court- 
house was filled with people, and most of them in 
tears. It was a pathetic scene. Each little "tot" had 
a cord tied around the neck with name and age on it. 
A bright, beautiful little child came up to my wife 
and pulled her cord around for my wife to read the 
name and it was "Mary Williams." She took the little 
one on her lap and the child called her "mamma." 
She never put her down. She had made no applica- 
tion, but upon being told who she was, the superintend- 
ent gladly gave her the child. So, on my return on 
Sunday evening, my wife, met me at the gate, with a 
child in her arms, big enough to go to Sunday school 
and who called me "papa" and it had all happened in 
two days. We surely live in great times. Events fol- 
low each other rapidly and on a grand scale. 



142 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

This little life came into our life as sunshine. Little 
Mary was in her third year when we adopted her and 
for three years she was a source of joy to us. She was 
quick and of a very sweet disposition. She soon wrapt 
herself around our hearts and we gave her all the af- 
fection that it was possible to give a child that was 
not ours by birth. 

Just when she was filling heart and home with child- 
ish sweetness, death came and took her from us. In 
sorrow we gave her up, but have always been glad that 
we took her, and gave her a home and in our affection 
and care for her brought joy and comfort into her 
little life. 

At the end of the six years given to these people, 
I felt that I had exhausted my resources upon them, 
and that the field merited work that I could not per- 
form. The church seemed to be satisfied with me, but 
I was not satisfied with results. 

So, in spite of the entreaties of these whom I loved 
and who loved me, influenced only by a desire to do 
more than I was doing or could do there, I resigned. 
It was a sad day for me and the church. Pastor and 
people went home weeping. They felt that I had made 
a mistake but I felt I had done the best thing for them 
and for myself. 



CHAPTER XV 
A City Preacher! 

From a country pastorate to a city pulpit, that is 
going some ; but which way ? Is it evoluting or retro- 
grading? If all that has been said of cities and city 
folks is true, a man is not progressing much when he 
takes city work. "The Dragon is in the cities ;" "the 
city is the storm center;" "the city church is 
given over to style and frivolities ;" these and 
other sayings have gone the rounds until country 
people and country preachers have almost con- 
cluded that nothing intensely religious is to be found in 
the city. I once so heard and so thought; hence was 
very much surprised at myself when I located in 
Kansas City, Missouri, the last place on earth that, at 
one time, I would have thought of making my home. 

It came about in this way. After my resignation at 
Carrollton I was invited to visit a mission church in 
Kansas City. I made the visit and the work appealed 
to me. I had desired for a long time, to do some work 
that would be foundation work. I had been building 
on what other workers had built up. I wanted "new 
ground," "Virgin soil." I wanted to clear the ground, 
plow the soil, sow the seed and cut the grain and see 
and know that I had accomplished something myself. 

I saw my opportunity in this great, growing, won- 
derful city. I saw that it was possible to set out your 

143 



144 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

borders every year. After prayerful deliberation I 
accepted the call from William Jewell church and in 
January, 1888, I entered upon a four-year's course 
that tested me in every way, and was possibly more 
beneficial to me than it was to the people to whom I 
ministered. 

The church was a "mission church" and was named 
in honor of William Jewell College under whose aus- 
pices the "mission" was started that grew into a 
church. When I accepted the care of it, this church 
had only forty members; was holding its services in 
a public hall and was in debt for a lot which had been 
purchased with a view to the erection of a suitable 
house of worship. 

The church was in the southwestern part of the 
city, and was among the laboring people. They were 
coming and going constantly and I soon discovered 
that I would have to build with "rolling stones." 
There were several mission churches in the city at 
the time and all were struggling to live and but for 
timely aid, all would have died. I had back of me in 
my work, the City Board, Blue River Board, State 
Board and Home Mission Board of New York. These 
Boards kept us well "roofed in" and by their help we 
forged ahead until the church was nearly self sustain- 
ing. 

The first step was to secure a permanent building. 
That it was a necessity, there was no question, but 
where and how, these questions were perplexing. A 
lot had been purchased and was being held for this 



A City Preacher. 145 

purpose but this lot was not payed for. How could a 
congregation of forty people, and none of them rich, 
pay for this lot and build a suitable house of worship 
on it? These were brave people; they had faith in 
God, in their brethren, and in themselves. They said : 
"We will rise up and build." The pastor said, Amen ; 
and at it we went. 

The first thing at which we made a drive was the 
debt on the lot. I secured "mission jugs" from Am- 
erican Baptist Publication Society and gave these jugs 
out September 1st. I offered three prizes, one to the 
child under twelve years of age whose jug contained 
most money when returned at Christmas; another to 
the young man or young lady whose jug had most in it 
when returned; and another to the adult lady or 
gentleman who made the best showing at the close of 
the campaign. The reward was a "Child's Bible" for 
the first class and "Teacher's Bible" for the other two. 

These jugs were taken as eagerly as a bass ever took 
a fly or minnow, and jugs were never more daily in 
use than were these Baptist jugs. I don't suppose as 
much "jugglery" was ever practiced in that part of 
the city in the same length of time, before or since. 
Everybody wanted a chance at one of these jugs, not 
to take out but put in. The time set for the jug-break- 
ing was Christmas Eve. That time came and we met 
and we broke jugs until nearly midnight. Each jug 
had to be listed then broken and contents counted. The 
largest amount found in any one jug was $22. The 
day after the breaking, the pastor and an assistant 
10 



146 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

were until noon getting that money in shape to be re- 
ceived at the bank. There were 2200 pennies in the 
aggregation. Having gotten all in shape, I put it into 
a grip and took it to the bank. When I got on the car 
I stopped on the rear platform. When the conductor 
collected my fare, I asked him to take up that grip 
and guess what was in it. He felt the heft of it and 
said : "I don't know but it is mighty heavy." I said to 
him: "That is money." With surprise on his face and 
an oath on his lips, he said: "Where did you get it?" 
When I explained to him the campaign and the out- 
come, he congratulated us on our success. 

As a result, when we were through, I had enough 
money to pay balance due on lots, to pay for the prizes 
and to pay for the jugs. We just came out even. 

The next drive was a bigger one — a house must be 
erected on that lot. The City Mission Board took up 
the proposition with us and helped us to decide the 
size and cost of the house to be built. Plans and 
specifications were submitted and accepted, and Wil- 
liam Jewell church was given the right of way in its 
appeals for assistance. The policy of the City Mission 
Board was to concentrate all the Baptist forces in the 
city on one point at a time, and it was now William 
Jewell's turn and she turned. She turned to the city, 
to the county and to the state and she turned not in 
vain. Help came from every quarter. The effort 
made by the little heroic band commended the enter 
prise to the brotherhood everywhere. 



A City Preacher. 147 

I was building committee, collector, treasurer and 
anything else that was needed. Men were scarce and 
the few we had were exceedingly busy. I had as much 
time as any of them and I freely gave it all to this 
cause. The house was built and dedicated free from 
debt. It was a very neat frame structure and was 
built all furnished and complete for $4500. 

During the time of building and trials incidental to 
it, the church kept up its expenses, contributed regu- 
larly and liberally to missions and added eighty-six 
to its membership, by baptism. In my work of raising 
money with which to build, I was in the field much 
of the time, but the faithful membership put forth 
greater efforts to keep the work up and in order. 

My record shows that I preached five hundred and 
seventy-two sermons during this pastorate. I held 
several meetings and gave the proceeds to the church. 
When it was known that what was paid me would be 
thus used, brethren were very liberal and I was paid 
on the basis of the worth of a Baptist church to 
Kansas City and not the worth of the sermons I was 
preaching. 

The summer in which we were under our severest 
strain, several of the city pastors were away on their 
vacation and arranged with me to preach for them 
and present my work and take a collection in its behalf. 
It certainly was kind in them to turn me loose in their 
herd with the privilege of feeding and milking. The 
cows were not shy of strangers and I was well paid for 
my efforts. 



148 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

My pastorate in the city was very beneficial to me, 
in more ways than one. It gave me an opportunity 
of knowing some of the problems of city work. We 
hear a great deal said about the "country church" and 
its problems. After having come in contact with both, 
I hesitate not to say that city problems, in point of dif- 
ficult solution are as far ahead of rural problems as the 
calculus in mathematics is ahead of elementary arith- 
metic. 

More people to deal with and more kinds of people, 
and from everywhere and each fellow wants to do 
things as they were done "back east," "down south," 
"up north," or "out west." To keep the threads from 
tangling and the wires from crossing requires the wis- 
dom of Solomon, the patience of Job and the meekness 
of Moses. 

I found also, that, in spite of vice, crime and world- 
liness rampant it is possible to have warm-hearted, 
spiritual-minded and Christ centered men and women. 
I have never seen better christians than I found in 
Kansas City and many in my own church. City 
churches do more work and give more money than 
other churches. There were girls in my church, who 
worked down in the city for three dollars and fifty 
cents per week, who contributed to the church twenty- 
five cents each Sabbath; more than some give in the 
country who own big farms and are in fine circum- 
stances. If you want to be with liberal people, hitch 
up with a city mission church where it is one eternal 
give or "git." 



A City Preacher. 149 

This being a "mission church" I had "babes in 
Christ" to deal with. In fact it was a "nursery." With 
few exceptions, the members were young and inex- 
perienced ; church work was new to them. I was doing 
foundation work sure enough. I had to be a teacher as 
well as preacher. I had studied Homiletics. Now I 
had to study Pedagogy. In my pulpit work I had to 
come down out of the clouds and stand on "terra 
firma" and give my thoughts in plain, simple language. 
If there is, to-day, any simplicity in my style of preach- 
ing; if it partakes in any degree of the expository 
method, I am largely indebted to my pastorate in 
Kansas City for it. 

I was also trained to look for immediate results in 
my work. Instead of holding a series of meetings to 
work up an interest, it became necessary frequently to 
hold meetings for a few days to take care of the in- 
terest developed in the regular services. I was con- 
stantly receiving and baptizing converts. The church 
was encouraged to work for this and to look for it. 
There was a going to people, taking hold of people and 
pulling people into the Kingdom and they, then, came 
into the church. 

My ministerial association was delightful and help- 
ful. Dr. Vassar was pastor of the First church; Dr. 
Lowrey was at Calvary ; Dr. Armstrong was at West 
Port; W. T. Campbell was at Olive street; C. N. 
Wester was at Immanuel, and S. M. Brown at Taber- 
nacle church. These were fine men, and in full sym- 
pathy with each other in all questions relating to pas- 



150 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

toral work. The stronger churches, led by the pastors, 
were the friends and helpers of the weaker churches. 
All worked together, in sweet fellowship, feeling that 
the cause was one and the same. There were no per- 
sonal jealousies or mean rivalries. Where one brother 
had more sense and religion than another, the excess 
was cheerfully used to help make up the deficit. 

In three years and ten months, I was permitted to 
witness an increase in membership from forty to one 
hundred and forty ; to see the church out of debt and 
comfortably housed in its own structure. But this 
strain broke me down and I was forced to give up this 
work that so heavily taxed all my powers, day and 
night. I felt that another could carry it forward bet- 
ter than myself. I wanted another field; one that 
would give me work but of a different kind and I 
found it. 



CHAPTER XVI 
Pastor in a University and College Town 

In the fall of 1892, having resigned the care of Wil- 
liam Jewell church, I was holding a meeting at Mosby 
in Clay county. In my mail one day, I received a let- 
ter from my wife, enclosing a letter from E. W. 
Stephens of Columbia, Missouri, calling my attention 
to Columbia Baptist church and asking me if I would 
consider a call from that church. He spoke in glow- 
ing terms of the field and the force and held out many 
inducements to me to consider it favorably. He asked 
me also to visit the church and see for myself what 
the field was and what it promised. 

In all the rummaging around of my wandering mind, 
hunting for employment, I had never thought of 
Columbia. I was as far from associating myself, in 
my thinking, with that place as I was from thinking 
of London or New York. I had been in the town only 
twice ; once, to deliver the annual address before the 
graduating class in Stephens College and then at the 
General Association in 1891. On each of the occasions 
I was impressed overwhelmingly with the muchness 
of the place. 

If I ever had been vain enough before these visits 
to think of myself and this town in the same week, 
these visits broke up that habit. As I moved around 
among these people and breathed the social, intellect- 

151 



152 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

ual and religious atmosphere of the town, I felt that I 
was right at the top and the altitude was too great for 
me. 

With these experiences still in mind, it did not take 
much time for me to answer the letter from Brother 
Stephens. I turned it down as promptly and as 
coldly as I could and be brotherly and polite. 

I told him it would be impossible for me to visit the 
church for some weeks and urged him to look in some 
other direction. In a few days, I received another 
communication from him, more loving, persuasive and 
persistent than the first. He told me that they would 
bide my time, if I would only say I would come. I 
saw but one way out and that was to go and preach 
and tell them the conditions upon which I would con- 
sider a call. I thought if they survived the preaching 
they would balk at the conditions. In October I made 
the visit and preached Sunday morning and night. On 
Monday I had a meeting with the deacons and other 
brethren and told them my reasons for hesitating to 
entertain their proposition. Some of these reasons 
were in myself and some were in them, and some in 
the magnitude of the work. Having talked it over 
with them, I then told them that if, after all they had 
seen and heard in me and from me, the church ex- 
tended the call I would consider it. The call came in 
a few days and I had to say yes, or close a door that I 
had had no hand in opening. 

With much fear and trembling I accepted the call 
and in a few days it was in the papers : "G. W. Hatch- 



Pastor in University and College Town. 153 

er has been called to the care of Columbia Baptist 
church." It seemed to me that I could see people 
open their eyes in astonishment and hear them express 
their surprise in a great big 'Whew!" As I met my 
brethren some congratulated me, some wished me well 
and some hoped I might succeed. Some lifted me up 
and encouraged me, while some made the mercury 
hunt the zero spot. One brother said to me: "And 
you go to Columbia? Why that is where our State 
University is. We need a strong man there." I don't 
think I would have been more chilled if he had put 
a piece of ice down my spine. Another said to me: 
"Now, Hatcher, you are going to Columbia, where you 
will have to preach to such men as President Jesse, 
President Barrett, E. W. Stephens, professors in the 
university and teachers in the college and a host of 
students; you will have to hustle and keep abreast 
with the times." He then suggested that I take the 
"Literary Digest" and some standard magazines. I said 
nothing but did a "power of thinking," and the 
burden of my thinking, was that Hatcher was not a 
digester of literature, nor a preacher of magazines. 

Having received this preliminary training I entered 
this pastorate in November, 1892. I moved into the 
parsonage (now the annex), where I lived in comfort 
and contentment for nine years. The house was large, 
well-lighted and heated with stoves. It took some fuel 
and labor to keep it warm in winter, but I furnished one 
and wife furnished the other. In summer we had 
plenty of room, light and air. We found it difficult to 



154 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

fill so great a house with our scant furniture and two 
people. But the dear people helped us to overcome 
these difficulties, by putting some valuable pieces of 
furniture with ours and coming in to see us. It was a 
kind of "half way house" for everybody who wanted 
to stop in going or coming or both and we were always 
glad to have them come. Wife had all the house she 
could keep and I was kept busy during my spare 
moments looking after the lawn. I not only kept the 
parsonage lawn but the church lawn also. I remember 
being in front of the church one morning, with my 
working clothes on. The janitor had been there and 
opened and dusted the building. A stranger who was 
passing stopped and came into the yard and asked me 
if he could go in and take a look. I very readily gave 
him permission and accompanied him. Having gone 
through and examined all the interesting features, on 
reaching the door he turned to me and asked me if 
I was the janitor of the church. I told him that I was 
pastor. He then took on a three-ply look of amaze- 
ment and whether he ever reconciled, to his own satis- 
faction, the apparent contradiction involved, I know 
not. 

It was not long after taking up the work until I lost 
my man-fearing spirit. I discovered that I was deal- 
ing with men and women. I could see no horns, nor 
hoofs, nor wings ; nothing to fear, and nothing to fall 
down before. There was no god among the men, nor 
goddess among the women; just flesh and blood like 
other folks. I made up my mind to treat them accord- 



Pastor in University and College Town. 155 

ingly and in my preaching, to give them what, in my 
judgment, they needed most. I had lawyers, doctors, 
professors, presidents, students, business men, and 
plain people to deal with. There were intellectual 
mountain tops and planes and canons. They all need- 
ed the same thing, as the high and low in nature needs 
sun and air, and I made up my mind to supply to the 
best of my ability that need. 

What that was may be suggested in the following in- 
cident : I had been pastor about eight months, when 
some educational function was pulled off at the Uni- 
versity. There were school men present from all parts 
of the state. During this meeting, I met Professor 
John Buchanan from Kansas City. He seemed to be 
very glad to see me and was very anxious to know 
how I was making it. "Don't you find it mighty hard 
work preaching to all these educated people?" said he. 
"No" said I, "they are the easiest people to preach to 
that I have ever served." He was surprised and 
wanted an explanation, which I gladly gave him. I 
told him that these professors and students were in 
school six days in the week wrestling with science, 
mathematics, philosophy and all the "ologies." On 
Sunday they came to the Baptist church and heard the 
Gospel and they went away saying: "Hatcher is very 
original." That was my policy. They knew more 
about somethings than I did and I knew it, but I knew 
more about my line than they did and I specialized 
along my line. 



156 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

Sunday after Sunday I faced well-educated men 
and women and men of affairs, who sat and looked at 
me and listened to me just as though they did not 
know any more than I did — and they didn't — when it 
comes to what I was talking about. My preaching 
was so far from the groove that their minds had been 
running in all the week, that to follow me was to go on 
a mental excursion into mental parks and partake of 
mental refreshments. 

Had I undertaken to have taught, from my pulpit, 
Evolution, Economics, Science, Philosophy, Sociology 
and kindred branches, I would have preached myself 
out of a congregation and been voted an ignoramus. 
I would simply have served to a good many of them, 
hash made from meat that they had been fed on all 
the week and they would have said that it was stale or 
spoiled. But when I unfolded the teaching of God's 
word and applied it to heart and life they enjoyed it 
and wanted more. The utter folly on my part, of en- 
tering a field with which I was not well acquainted 
was strikingly illustrated by some who were wanting 
to be religious teachers who knew but little about the 
text-book of religion, because they had studied other 
things and were authorities on other questions they 
hastily drew the conclusion that they were well quali- 
fied to speak out on questions they had never seriously 
considered. Their utterances and conclusions to well 
informed people were shallow and vapid and both 
amazing and amusing. 

As I did not desire to subject myself to well merited 
ridicule, I did not turn aside from my God-given task 



Pastor in University and College Town. 157 

of preaching the Bible as I understood it. I very well 
knew, that the schools would look after the secular 
teaching and training and I tried to be as faithful and 
efficient in my efforts to give the spiritual and re- 
ligious. 

"Did you not hear of some things being taught that 
were contrary to what you were teaching?" Oh yes. 
Some fellow who knew a great deal about other things, 
but very little about religion and the Bible would some 
times swell up and strut forth and deliver some free 
lectures to preachers and churches. Sometimes we 
were told that "there was a clash between science and 
the Bible ;" that "a man could not think and be a 
christian;" that "religion was on the wane;" all these, 
and a whole lot more of silly things were said, by 
some who because they knew some things were vain 
enough to think they knew everything. 

"Did you not answer these charges and defend the 
Bible and Christianity when thus attacked?" Yes, but 
in my own way. In all my ministry, the only way I 
have ever tried to defend the Bible is to ascertain its 
meaning and clearly present it. If it will not stand on 
its own feet, it must fall. If its Author has given the 
world a book that is vulnerable, unreliable, and at war 
with truth, it is no fault of mine. All the defense it 
ever needs is to be faithfully translated, honesly in- 
terpreted and put into practice. When a man tells me 
that he cannot reconcile science and the Bible, I ask 
him if he knows all about both. If he says he does not, 
which as a truthful man, he must say, I tell him, in 



158 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

all probability the solution of the problem lies within 
the domain of his ignorance, and until he knows all 
about the Bible and all about science, he has no right 
to say they are in conflict. 

I have never been afraid to trust the Bible to take 
care of itself. I have never been uneasy about the 
results of Christianity where men and women can be 
induced to submit it to a personal experimental test. 
Where there is an unwillingness to do this, there ex- 
ists unmistakable evidence of dishonesty. Instead 
of "thinking it out" it must be "tried out." When 
thus tested it becomes a "science" as truly as results 
are scientific that are reached in a laboratory. 

I was invited, one day to attend a lecture on "Evo- 
lution" to be delivered by the head of the department 
of "Biology." I went. The professor was a big, 
brawny, brainy fellow and a full-fledged materialistic 
Darwinian. He gave it to us straight. No Mosaic ac- 
count of the origin of the race suited him, but Dar- 
win's "Origin of Species" was to him a sweet morsel 
and he surely did roll it as such. He was bold to 
assert that the long looked for and devoutly sought 
"missing link" had been found. He had his chain com- 
plete. There was the dog, the lemur, the gorilla, the 
ape, the monkey, the chimpanzee and then — man. To 
show that man descended from this line of ancestors, 
he spoke of the animal yet to be seen in man, the cun- 
ning of the wolf, the snap and snarl of the dog, etc., 
etc., etc. 



Pastor in University and College Town. 159 

When I met my student friend, at whose solicitation 
I attended the lecture, he asked me what I thought 
about it. I frankly said to him: "There may be dog 
in that man but there is none in me. My daddy did 
not come that road. That may be his family tree but 
it is not mine. I have no objections to his claiming 
kin with that outfit. If those animals do not set up a 
howl over it, I shall not. But when he tries to foist 
his kinfolks on me, that is a different matter and I 
disown and disclaim any connection with that family 
however remote." 

To counteract the influence of false teaching and of 
intellectual vanity, I tried with all my might and main 
to preach the Bible, with no apology for doing it and 
to impress my people with the fact that I believed it 
from "kiver to kiver." "How did this policy work?" 
Well, let results answer the question. For nine years 
I held this pastorate, the longest service rendered by 
any man as pastor in the history of the church, and 
my longest pastorate. During this time four hundred 
and twenty members were added to the church and 
nearly half of them by baptism. 

In material things the church prospered. A wooden 
ceiling was put in the main auditorium, granitoid walks 
were put down and a two thousand dollar organ was 
installed and all was paid for. 

When, at the expiration of these nine years I gave 
up the work, I did it of my own accord and at the 
deep regreat of the congregation. That I had not "lost 
out" nor been "squeezed out," nor "prized out" was 



160 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

shown on the twenty-ninth day of September, 1901, 
when I preached my farewell sermon. Just before dis- 
missing the congregation, a feature was introduced 
with which I had nothing to do. Brother E. W. 
Stephens arose and called the house to order and stated 
that Rev. Sam Frank Taylor had been requested by 
the brethren to prepare a parting statement to be en- 
dorsed by the congregation. 

Brother Taylor came forward and read these words : 
"Beloved Brother: The hour has struck wherein 
your services as our undershepherd must cease. This 
severence of the sacred relation, which for the past 
nine years you have sustained to us, is not of our seek- 
ing. The All-Wise God, whose we are and whom we 
serve, in His inscrutable providence seems to order it ; 
and to His divine mandate we submissively bow. But 
in this parting hour, out of the depths of grateful 
hearts we wish to bear willing witness to your worth. 
In you we each have ever felt we had a friend; a 
genuine man, possessed of wit and wisdom, grit and 
grace. It is no fulsome flattery to say that, through- 
out the entire period of your pastorate here, you have 
been, in all "things faithful found." Like the Master, 
you have gone about doing good. From your lips the 
Gospel Trumpet has given forth no uncertain sound. 
Fearless of man, in the filial fear of the Lord, you 
'have not shunned to declare unto us all the counsel 
of God; and have kept back nothing that was profit- 
able; and have taught publicly and from house to 
house, testifying to all repentance toward God and 



Pastor in University and College Town. 161 

faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.' And so under 
your leadership and ministry our church has greatly 
prospered. Debts have been paid, property has been 
improved. The unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
peace has been maintained. Power has been put forth, 
Saints have been edified. Sinners have been saved. 
Stephens College, so closely and indissolubly connect- 
ed with our church, by generous gifts of money, time, 
toil and prayer on the part of our people, as to be 
almost a part of it, owes you much. In the great en- 
largement and improvement of that institution, you 
have borne a noble, laborious and unselfish part. 
Columbia is a better town to-day than when you came. 
Her moral atmosphere is purer. Her religious life is 
deeper. She is, indeed, a safer city into which to send 
the young to stay and study. And under God, with the 
bringing of all this to pass, you have had much to do, 
nor do we in this hour fail to remember your devoted 
wife. In heart and thought we link her name with 
yours. In all your works of faith and labors of love 
we have seen, indeed, in her a "helpmeet" for you. 
In the church ; in the social circle ; in her home, ever 
so hospitably open and so beautifully kept, her pres- 
ence has ever brought sunshine into our lives as it 
has brought the spirit of good cheer and kindness into 
our hearts. Accept then this loving tribute. Carry with 
you ever more the absolute assurance of our sincere 
and unfaltering affection for yourself and wife. 
Servants of God, well done; and when this mortal life 
is ended may there be ministered unto you both an 
11 



162 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

abundant entrance through the gates into the City that 
forevermore you may stand in the presence of the 
King." 

At the conclusion of the reading of these words 
they were adopted by a rising vote, and then given to 
me. They had been printed and elegantly bound, a 
fine specimen of the printers and binders art, for my 
keeping and I have them now and shall ever preserve 
them. They are as sweet and as fragrant to me to-day 
as when I heard them and looked at them the first 
time, coming at the close of my longest, hardest and 
most laborious pastorate, I regard them as the highest 
tribute of sincere affection ever paid me in return for 
service given. 

My wife was cheered, not only by what was said to 
her in this tribute, but in addition to this the "Ladies 
Aid Society" of the church adopted and gave her this 
testimonial : 

"To our dear Sister Hatcher: 

You make the world brighter, you have made it 
brighter for us. You have carried sunshine into all 
of our homes. You have come to us in times of 
trouble and sorrow bearing God's blessing as well. You 
have toiled willingly and faithfully with us in all of 
our work, making many an appetizing dish and dainty 
article of needlework to increase the funds of the Aid 
Society. You have given your presence, your prayers 
and your words of wisdom in our missionary circle. 
You have been faithful in the discharge of all the 
duties of a pastor's wife for these nine years. For the 



Pastor in University and College Town. 163 

blessings and pleasures you have brought us, we are 
most grateful and thank God for sending you to us, 
and we trust that we have aided you and that you have 
grown in grace while among us. And now may you 
go with our greetings to another band of sisters whose 
lives and homes will be made brighter by your com- 
ing. We, the women of the Baptist church of 
Columbia, wish you health and prosperity in your new 
home. May you continue to "go forward" in the 
cause of Christ into whose kindly care and keeping we 
now commend you." 

These expressions, coming from people who had 
known us and tested us for years, show us beyond all 
peradventure, that we had not lived in vain while 
among them; that during the passing years we had 
deeply rooted ourselves in the affection, confidence 
and sympathy of this people. 

My work in Columbia was heavier than any work of 
my life. I had a different class of people to preach 
to, more thoughtful, more intellectual, more critical. 
This called for careful, prayerful, mature preparation. 
In addition to pulpit work and pastoral work in the 
town, I had to look after our Baptist interests in the 
University. In addition to this I had to keep in close 
touch with Stephens College. This was equivalent to 
being pastor of three churches in one town. I was 
frequently called on, as were other pastors in town, 
to conduct chapel exercises at the university for a 
week at a time. This took careful thought and selec- 
tion, but it brought me in close touch with the fac- 



164 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

ulty and students and increased my opportunities for 
seed sowing. 

Much of rny time was given to Stephens College, 
both in material and spiritual matters. It was rich, 
promising soil and responded to seeding and cultiva- 
tion. From the University and college I gathered 
material that was very helpful to me in my church 
work. Some men, who are now filling responsible 
positions in life I baptized and trained in religious 
work while they were here. Others, who were chris- 
tians when they came, were brought into prominent ac- 
tivity in church work while they were pursuing 
their course in the University. Among these are Prof. 
Walter Rautenstraucht, now in Columbia University, 
New York ; Gurry Huggins, one of the big, young bus- 
iness men of New York City; W. B. Pettus, mission- 
ary in China ; Walter Goodson, State Senator in Mis- 
souri ; Warren Woodson ; Charlie Deppie ; Will 
Martin ; Roy Perrine ; Hugh Stephens ; Irvine Rauten- 
straucht and Jimmie Reager. These were religious 
boys and have developed into strong christian men. I 
have not been able to keep track of my Stephens 
College girls for they have nearly all changed their 
names; a way that intelligent girls have of doing to 
which no sensible preacher will object. 

There are no pulpits in the state of Missouri that 
afford such opportunities for "extension work" as 
Columbia pulpits. Through the bright young men and 
women that are in training for life's work in the 
schools of Columbia, the Columbia preacher may be 



Pastor in University and College Town. 165 

heard and his influence felt all over the world. Since 
my pastorate in this city, I have scarcely gone into any 
town or city of any state without meeting some one 
who sat under my preaching while in college or the 
university in Columbia. 

In my efforts to win souls to Christ and develop 
the saved into stronger men and women, I worked not 
alone. I had yoked up with me and pulling more than I 
could pull, a strong body of warm hearted, level- 
headed and strong handed people, both men and 
women. Some of them remain to this day, but many 
have exchanged the yoke for the Robe and Crown. As 
the living are here, they can speak for themselves. I 
want to speak of some whose lips are silent; some 
who were especially helpful to me, whose words and 
works were an inspiration to me. Preeminently 
worthy of mention in this list is the name of Miss 
Georgia Ward. She assisted in getting the parsonage 
ready for us, and when we came she was on hand to 
be of service at any time and in any way. 

After we were located, she saw that I had no suit- 
able desk for my study. Without saying anything to 
me about it, she went out quietly and raised money 
enough to place at my disposal an elegant roller top 
desk, which was of great value to me and which I used 
for years with great profit. She then offered her 
services as "pilot" to take me to the homes of the 
people. Being a stranger in a strange place, her assist- 
ance in this matter was of incalculable value for she 
saved me much loss of time in hunting places. 



166 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

This was all the more to be appreciated and com- 
mended in view of the fact that she was handicapped 
by physical disability that made walking, to her very 
laborious. She and her dear old mother were " fellow 
helpers to the truth." It gave them great pleasure to 
have pastor and wife "spend the day" with them, and 
the day had to be an exceedingly busy one if their in- 
vitation was not accepted. 

Another dear old couple was brother Babb and wife. 
He was a retired minister, old in body but young in 
heart and mind. He and his dear wife lived as near 
to Jesus, as anybody I ever knew. I have visited them 
when their faces would be radiant and they would tell 
me that they had been enjoying a visit from the 
Master. Jesus was as real to them as was their pastor. 
My wife always enjoyed his prayers, for he always 
asked the Lord to bless "Our Pastor and his dear 
Wife." I have never come in contact with two more 
saintly people. 

"Uncle" James Wiseman was another worthy broth- 
er. He loved the sanctuary and all its services and 
showed it by his presence and hearty participation in 
all the exercises. He would sometimes go to 
sleep, but it was not from indifference. Pos- 
sibly the best and most charitable explana- 
tion that could be given, is the one he gave brother 
E. W. Stephens in his office one day when they were 
talking over church matters. He said : "I go to hear 
Brother Hatcher preach and he preaches so good, says 
so many good things and says them in such a good way 



Pastor in University and College Town. 167 

that I just go to sleep." But he never went so far into 
slumberland as not to be able to tell much about the 
sermon. 

Brother J. L. Stephens was a pillar in the church 
and a tower of strength in the community, though in 
decline when I first knew him. He was his pastor's 
friend and wanted to be of service in every way pos- 
sible. He had some very original ideas. Shortly 
after I came, he took me, one day, to the cemetery 
and said that when he went to a new town he gathered 
his ideas of the character of living from the conditions 
of the city of the dead. If that showed up as it ought, 
you could depend on the people whom it represented. 

I had never thought of it before, but have thought 
much about it since. Neatness and durable work in 
the grave yard point to thrift and industry among the 
people. This dear brother was a public spirited man. 
He made money and used it for the good of mankind 
and the glory of God. His most enduring and far- 
reaching work was his gift of twenty thousand dollars 
to female education, which gave to Stephens College 
its name and laid the foundation for its present and 
future greatness. That, up to that time, was the larg- 
est donation ever made to christian education by any- 
body west of the Mississippi river. 

The name of Henry Silvers is worthy a place in 
this list. He was a true friend and assistant; always 
at his post and ready for "work or sacrifice." He was 
a spiritual man and his piety was unquestioned. The 
church, its work and interests had a large place in his 



168 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage* 

thought and life, and he was an honor to it. He ac- 
complished as much in proportion to his mental, moral 
and financial capital as any member of the body. 

Brother William Waters was another deserving 
brother. He was a little peculiar in his make-up, but 
was faithful and loyal to his church and true to his 
convictions. For many years he was a successful 
school teacher in the county and his impress for good 
is to be seen even now on many who sat under his in- 
structions. 

Dr. George Morse, the dentist, was one of our most 
faithful members. For years he led the singing in 
prayer meeting and Sunday school. He was a musi- 
cian and loved to be used in that way. He was faith- 
ful, always there and on time. In his insistence on 
"time" in singing he was some times called a "crank," 
but who ever saw a musician that did things in that de- 
partment who was not so named? 

These dear old brethren, whose names I have called, 
for several years, kept up what they called "the old 
folks' prayer-meeting." They met at two-thirty 
Sunday afternoon. The meetings were very inform- 
al. They would sing the "old songs" and make as 
many talks as they wished to make; sometimes the 
meetings would last until 5 o'clock. It was their meet- 
ing and they ran it according to their own ideas. 
Sometimes I would meet with them and stay as long 
as I could absent myself from my study. 

I remember, being present one afternoon, when they 
were discussing "Prayer." The leader was talking, 



Pastor in University and College Town. 169 

when I went in. He recognized my presence and gave 
me an indirect compliment. He said: "Brethren do 
you suppose that our pastor would ever have preached 
the sermon that he tried to preach today, and in a 
measure succeeded, if it had not been for prayers?" 
I don't know how his question appealed to the others, 
but the pastor would have enjoyed a "shout" just at 
that particular moment. 

There were, in the church when I came a good 
many excellent women, who contributed largely to the 
efficiency of the body. Mrs. Olivia Mathews, Mrs. 
Fannie Mathews, Mrs. Moss, Mrs. Morse, Miss Annie 
Baker and her mother, Mrs. Crump, Mrs. J. L. Steph- 
ens and Mrs. Quisenberry. Some of these were 
"Marys," and some were "Marthas," and some were 
the two characters combined, but all of them women of 
worth in church and community. 

No pastor was ever blessed with a more harmonious, 
congenial and helpful constituency than was mine dur- 
ing this pastorate. Some of the helpers of that time 
are on the firing line today and are as helpful now 
as they were then. Of these I mention one. I select 
him on account of his extreme age and also on account 
of what he said to me one day. I am speaking of 
"Uncle Bob" Smith, who is in his 95th year. He yet 
walks the streets and comes to Sunday school and 
church every Sunday morning. When I met him, one 
day, while I was pastor, I said to him : "Uncle Bob, 
the Smith family is a good big family, isn't it?" He 
said : "Yes, but it is not as big as it used to be." "How 



170 A Pilgdim and His Pilgrimage. 

is that?" I asked. "Well," said he, "a long time ago 
the Smiths had a family reunion and they called out 
all the scalawags and called them Hatcher and other 
names." It almost took my breath, for I was not look- 
ing for a thrust like that from that source, But I 
enjoyed the joke. He set his trap and I walked in and 
he enjoyed catching the parson. 

Stephens College made many demands upon my 
time and energy. Shortly after I came, I was called 
to serve as secretary of the Board of Curators in 
addition to serving as a member of the Board. This 
office I rilled during my pastorate. No one, who was 
not under the burden, knows what that Board endured 
all through these years. I often wonder how the 
school ever survived the hardships through which it 
passed. There were times when, closing the school 
seemed to be inevitable, but by borrowing and begging 
it was kept afloat. The time came when enlargement 
had to be considered. The attendance grew until more 
room and better equipment were necessary. The 
building of the Chapel, with Art Room, Study Hall 
and Laboratories underneath was undertaken. 

Reverend Sam Frank Taylor was President of the 
college and he supplied my people with preaching and 
I took the field for three months and collected funds 
for the enterprise. The chapel was completed at the 
cost of $20,000. Two names are on the building to- 
day memorializing two worthy Boone county women : 
Mrs. R. E. Sappington and Mrs. Kate Quinn ; placed 
there through the liberality of the husband of each, R. 



Pastor in University and College Town. 171 

E. Sappington and M. G. Quinn. These gifts laid the 
foundation for the success of the undertaking. Con- 
fidence was begotten, enthusiasm aroused and work was 
continued until consummation was reached. The "cap 
sheaf" donation came from E. W. Stephens, who gave 
$5000 with the understanding that his gift was to be 
made when that amount would complete the structure. 

In donations, these men, with L. D. Hart, are the 
"Pillars" that supported the financial weight of that 
building. Many gave and gave liberally but these gave 
so largely that the little and larger gifts were made 
more effective. R. E. Sappington of blessed memory, 
has put into this college, first and last $15,000. He 
and J. L. Stephens stand on this campus side by side, 
in this enduring monument, blessing the generations 
that come in touch with its wholesome influences. 

This heavy, constant grind left its effects upon me. 
It got on my nerves. I never knew before, in an ex- 
perimental way, that there were any nerves in my 
make-up. But I reached the point where it looked 
like I was all nerves and they were all outside. I went 
to pieces. I could not eat or sleep, which was very un- 
usual for me. All my life it had been quite easy to 
get me to the table and quite difficult to get me out of 
bed. 

I could not adjust myself to my new conditions. The 
doctors failed on me. They did what they could, but 
medicine fell short of the mark. I wanted to give up 
the work and did offer my resignation, but it was 
turned down. They gave me a vacation to last until 



172 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

I regained what I had lost. I went to the lakes in Min- 
nesota and stayed there two months. I rested, I 
fished, I lolled around, I made a business of relaxing 
and came back brown and feeling myself again. As 
soon, however, as I took up the load again, I felt the 
old trouble coming back, so in order to save myself and 
get out of the way of the prosperity of the church, in 
the fall of 1901, I gave up what had been to me my 
longest, my hardest, my most enjoyable and as I see 
it, my most effective pastorate. 

In 1899, one year before my work closed in Colum- 
bia, a deep shadow came over my life. On the 21st 
day of July, of that year I lost my mother. I learned, 
in my sixteenth year what it is to be fatherless ; I had 
known, on two different occasions what it was to be 
childless, but had never before felt the loneliness that 
comes with being motherless. She died in Oklahoma 
in the home of my brother. On Sunday evening I 
received a telegram asking me to come at once. By 
appointment I was to preach the sermon that night in 
a "Union Service" at the Presbyterian church. I fillei 
the appointment as best I could in my burdened anx- 
ious state of mind. I reached her bedside Tuesday 
night. She knew me and said to me: "You liked to 
have been too late." On Thursday she passed away. 
I could hardly realize that I had no mother. 

Arrangements were made for her burial. The 
pastor of the Baptist church in the community was re- 
quested to conduct the funeral exercises. On account 
of heavy rains and high waters he was unable to reach 



Pastor in University and College Town. 173 

us in time. What was to be done? The friends were 
there, filling house and yard. I told my brothers that 
I could not bear the thought of putting my mother's 
body away without religious services being held. So, 
I preached my mother's funeral. 

The thought that impressed me deeply during the 
service was the fact that never before had we stood 
around her weeping when she was unmoved by our 
tears. We laid her body to rest in the virgin soil of 
Oklahoma, believing that her spirit had gone to God 
who gave it. We want the hope of meeting her and 
enjoying her in her new home to be as real to us as 
was the hope of visiting her while in the flesh. Re- 
membering her love for us and her words to us we 
will press on until our eyes sweep the heavenly shore 
and our feet press the golden strand and our hands 
clasp the hands of her who cared for us in infancy, 
guided us in youth and comforted us in maturer years. 



CHAPTER XVII 
A District Missionary 

When I severed my relation as pastor of Columbia 
Baptist church I had no idea of where I would go or 
what I would do but was looking for the "open door." 
It came at an unsuspected time and in an unlooked for 
way. 

At the Little Bonne Femme Association of 1901, the 
advisability of having an Associational Missionary was 
discussed and it was the decision of that body that the 
Executive Board at once secure the services of some 
one to do this work. At the noon hour of that day 
I was asked to accept the position. It was a surprise 
to me and I was not prepared to give an answer to 
the proposal. I took it under advisement until the 
next morning. I studied the whole question carefully 
and prayerfully. I knew I was physically in poor con- 
dition for work such as I had been doing ; but this was 
a change. The work would be different; I would see 
new faces and be in different places. It had variety, 
and afforded great opportunities for usefulness in 
many ways and in many communities. 

It would be a "rough and tumble" life with "get 
up and go" enough about it to take my mind entirely 
off myself and thus relieve the pressure under which 
I had been laboring for months. 

174 



A District Missionary. 175 

With the hope of building up myself and helping the 
cause of Christ in the Association, I accepted the call 
and took up the work October first. 

The brethren "joshed" me a little when I had 
reached my decision and the Board had made an 
agreement with me. I was reminded of the fact that 
while the question was pending, I urged the import- 
ance of securing a good man at a good salary and 
keeping him in the field for the entire year and thus 
helped to create an office for myself. 

They knew they could safely "joke" me, for it was 
only a joke, for I had no more idea of being District 
Missionary when I urged the securing of one than I had 
of being the president of these United States. But 
when they laid it upon me, and I saw that I could 
serve them and help myself, it appealed to me and 
these two features outweighed all the disagreeable 
things that were plainly in sight. 

The territory in which I was expected to operate 
embraced Boone and Calloway counties and a part of 
Montgomery county, certainly enough to give full 
scope and swing to all my powers. It was a big pro- 
position when looked at in its entirety, but was less 
overwhelming when viewed "piece at a time." I was 
left entirely free to exercise my own judgment as to 
where I should go, what I should do and when I should 
leave. 

I selected, as my starting point, Bethany church in 
Montgomery county. This church had not been repre- 
sented in the Association, either by letter or messenger, 



176 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

for two years, and had not had a religious service of 
any kind for six months prior to mv going. I staid 
there three weeks and succeeded in bringing the people 
together and getting the church to going again. I or- 
dained one deacon; a Sunday school was organized, 
and a pastor was called and came upon the field be- 
fore I left. There was only one addition to the church 
and that was by restoration, but the meeting was a 
great blessing in other respects. At the close of the 
meeting I had a "Thanksgiving service" and request- 
ed all the people to voice their appreciation of what 
had been done in a personal offering. It was a dry 
year; 1901 is known as "the dry year." Everything 
was scarce. I requested all to bring an offering either 
in money or something that could be converted into 
money. I had arranged with a colored man, who kept 
a little store about a mile away, to take, at market 
price, what was brought. The day came and the people 
came and it took a two-horse wagon to take to that 
store the offerings of that people on that day. There 
was corn and wheat and fowls, and vegetables and 
hides and gourds and what not. I was forcibly re- 
minded of the offerings made by the Jews in the olden 
time when the Tabernacle was built in the wilderness. 
It was a great and joyful day. Out of their poverty 
and privations, many gave that day of their substance, 
as a result of which $25 in cash was realized. The 
church took on new life and has forged ahead from 
that day and is to-day doing good work. 



A District Missionary. 177 

We hear a great deal said about the "country 
church'' and its "problems." Everybody seems to 
know what to do with them. They have been looked 
over by a great many, at a very great distance, and 
many prescriptions have been given and some of them 
at very great length. In the judgment of some, what 
is needed is a first-class ecclesiastical undertaker, to 
go around and bury all the dead ones and take as a 
text while doing it: "Blessed are the dead that die 
in the Lord." When this is done, there are those who 
think that the remnants should be brought together 
into one ecclesiastical conglomeration and labeled a 
"community church." But, in my judgment, based on 
observation and experience, the average country 
church has more lives than a cat. It is like worn 
out soil, it will respond to proper treatment and where 
there was once barrenness or only weeds and briers, 
proper cultivation and fertilization will bring back pro- 
ductiveness. Deep plowing, sowing the right kind of 
seed and "dry farming methods" will tell for good on 
the average country church. Barrenness does not al- 
ways mean deadness and "as long as there is life there 
is hope." Where a church in the country, or in the 
town or city for that matter, does not respond to 
earnest praying and scriptural preaching and faithful 
plowing, and loving, leading and gentle rubbing and 
currying, let that church be "Anathema, Maranatha." 

Yucatan, in Calloway county was the next objective 
point. This church had a good nucleus, and a good 
pastor. It was located in a timbered section and rail- 
12 



178 A Pilgrim and His Pilqr image. 

road ties and hoop-poles were the main industries. 
Religion was at a very low ebb. A great many of 
the men were very fond of hard cider and crap-shoot- 
ing. The meeting grew from the start, and took hold 
of some of the "hard cases" at the beginning. The 
entire community was aroused. When the meeting 
closed, there had been about twenty-five added to 
the church by baptism. Some of these had been very 
open and pronounced in their wickedness, but made 
good church members and some of them are pillars 
in the church to-day. 

Other points visited and helped were New Hope, 
Portland, Hartsburg, Huntsdale, McBaine and Teb- 
betts. The work done at these points occupied the 
ten months intervening between my appointment and 
the next meeting of the Association at which time I 
reported as follows. Sermons preached 297; baptisms 
76; by letter 20; by relation 10; by restoration 2; 
total 108 ; money collected $628.91. In addition to this 
I dedicated the house at McBaine and raised $350 on 
that day and freed the church from debt. I also or- 
ganized the church at Huntsdale and secured a deed 
to the house from W. B. Hunt, who had built it him- 
self for the Baptists as soon as a church was or- 
ganized. On account of the close proximity to Sugar 
Creek, McBaine and and Bethel, I hesitated to or- 
ganize a church at Huntsdale so I called the Board 
together and had the neighboring churches represent- 
ed, and laid the matter before them. After a full 
and frank discussion it was deemed safe and wise 



A District Missionary. 179 

to accept Brother Hunt's proposition, which was 
accordingly done and a Baptist church of about thirty 
in number with a good, substantial, commodious house 
of worship was planted in this community center with 
but little expense to the Board. 

At this session of the Association my work was 
accepted and I was asked to continue as missionary 
another year. During the ensuing year I visited and 
labored with old Brick Providence, Barnes Chapel, 
New Providence, Pleasant Hill, Ashland, Auxvasse, 
Hopewell, Prairie Grove and Tebbetts. 

Results for this year were not as large as the year 
before, as the following report shows : Sermons 232 ; 
baptisms 25; by letter 2; by relation 4; total 31; col- 
lected on the field $472. 

I found the work much harder the second year. 
Material conditions had changed, a year of plenty fol- 
lowed the dry year and people were not so easily 
reached. Another obstacle, the latter part of the 
second year, was the failing health of my wife. She 
had never complained of her lonely lot, but when her 
health failed, her condition so appealed to me that 
in justice to her I made up my mind to give up this 
work and take up another line of work that would 
permit me to be at home. At the meeting of the 
Association in 1903 I declined to continue longer as 
Associational missionary. 

I had enjoyed the work and the sweet fellowship 
of the good people, and I met them everywhere; 
men and women who loved mv Lord and who were 



180 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

interested in me because of my relation to Him. I 
formed acquaintances and friendships that will be 
perfected in heaven. I was instrumental in starting 
many in a better life and helping others to grow in 
grace and in the knowledge of the truth. 

The work was hard and difficult, yet it brought to 
me rich rewards. In body I became stronger, in 
heart I became warmer, and in spirit more Christ- 
like. The year and ten months, left a rich deposit 
in my entire make-up and the measure of success 
attained and the kind words of my brethren and the 
smiles of the Master, more than compensated me for 
all I endured in toil and privation. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
Back to Carrollton. 

Some preachers cannot get away", some cannot come 
back, while there are others who can do both. I be- 
long to the latter class. After an absence of fifteen 
years, I returned to Carrollton to serve as pastor an- 
other term. As soon as my health justified me in 
again entering the pastorate, the call came to me 
from this, my old home. I at once accepted it and 
moved into the parsonage built for us during our 
former stay. In returning to my old charge, I felt, 
as I suppose a man feels who is married again to 
the woman from whom he was divorced . 

I was relieved of a task that every new man finds 
in a new field — "getting acquainted." I knew the 
people and they knew me, and we just said "howdy" 
and went to work. 

The passing years had made many changes. The 
"old brethren" were nearly all gone. There were a 
few to greet me and they are gone now. The church 
had had the services of three good men during my 
absence and what they had taught and wrought I had 
to build upon. I was saved from "hunting up" the 
members for I knew their location, but I was at a 
great disadvantage at another point — I could not "turn 
the barrel" for I did that when I was there before, 
and I did not want them to become too familiar with 

181 



182 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

my "lines of thought" for fear that familiarity might 
breed contempt. 

Knowing that I had not been very stout and that 
my wife's health was declining, these dear people 
were as kind, as thoughtful, as gentle and loving to 
us as a mother is to her babe. We were shielded 
and protected in every possible way. 

While we sadly missed the fathers and mothers 
who so nobly supported us in the former pastorate, 
we were fortunate in having their children who imitat- 
ed, closely, their ancestry in love and loyalty. 

Having lived in the town and county so long and 
having friends and acquaintances far and near, I was 
used in all parts of the Association in protracted meet- 
ings and fifth Sunday conventions. It was always a 
joy to me to get out and come in touch with the 
people. While I had plenty to do at home, yet, I 
could do it better after spending a while in the coun- 
try. The country work was rest to me and the coun- 
try "grub" was zest to me and I always returned 
stronger and fuller than when I went away. 

My second pastorate here dates from March, 1904 
to August, 1907. During this period I preached two 
hundred, eighty-four sermons and baptized seventy- 
two persons. Everything worked smoothly and I 
felt that probably I was settled for life. But how 
little we know of the future and what a day may 
bring forth. A trouble that I had had for some 
time, to which I had paid but little attention, now 
assumed huge proportions and resulted in my gas 






Back to Carrollton. 183 

pipe freezing up in July. I found myself the victim 
of a catarrhal condition of the larynx that resulted 
in loss of voice. My voice would fade out to a 
whisper. It has always been a mystery to me why 
I should, or any man should, get into that condition. 
Nobody is surprised to see a woman with her talking 
box out of commission but to see a man and a married 
man, who is supposed to have a chance to say but 
little, where he cannot even croak, is surpassingly 
strange. 

But truth is sometimes more strange than fictioa 
So in my case, my voice was as full of tricks as a 
trick mule. I could not tell when nor where it 
would fail me. I resorted to medical advice and treat- 
ment. I tried alopath, hydropath, homeopath, osteo- 
path, but all "paths" failed me. I was told that a 
change in climate was my only show for relief. 

This necessitated my resignation as pastor. I had 
gone through with this once before, but the second 
trial was severer than the first. An element entered 
the second that had no place in the first. When I 
resigned the second time, I did not know but that it 
meant my giving up the ministry. I did not know that 
changing climate would bring a cure. It was a dark 
time to me and all my friends. If deep sympathy 
could have helped the disease, I would have been 
cured on the spot. This sympathy was expressed in 
two ways, in words and in deeds. Newspapers are 
supposed to voice the sentiment of the public in all 
matters that are of public interest. In view of this 



184 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

fact I quote what was said of my going away and 
of the condition that necessitated it in the town papers 
at the time. The notices are so personal and so com- 
plimentary that I step aside until they are read. 

The Democrat spoke as follows: 

"At the Sunday morning service at the Baptist 
church, Rev. G. W. Hatcher resigned his pastorate 
to take effect at once. While the congregation has 
been expecting for some time that their beloved pastor 
would resign on account of his health, they hoped 
that it was in the far distant future and they are 
not ready to give him up; in fact they never would 
be ready, for he is the ideal pastor for the church. 
He is a splendid preacher and his work in general, in 
this community is such that it will be hard to find a 
man that can even attempt to fill it. Every member 
of his congregation is his friend ; every one in this 
community is proud to call him friend, and his in- 
fluence for his master, among these people is such 
that no other man can do his work." 

"Reverend Hatcher is as well known among Bap- 
tists all over the state as he is in this county, and 
he is a power for good in the state work. He will 
be missed in the councils of the church. If it were 
possible to keep him by the wish of the community, 
he would make Carrollton his home the rest of his 
days, because he fits the place and the place fits him." 

"Wherever Reverend Hatcher and his good wife 
may cast their lot, they will always have the best 
wishes of the people of Carrollton, and may their 






Back to Carrollton. 185 

new home be the next best place to Carrollton and 
may he soon be able to return to the scene of his 
life's work." 

"For over thirty years Reverend Hatcher has 
ministered to the spiritual needs of this people; twice 
he has been pastor of the local church, each time end- 
ing the pastorate of his own accord and in direct 
opposition to the wishes of his people. May he re- 
turn soon and here finish his work." 

In the Republican Record of that week the follow- 
ing appeared : 

"It is with extreme regret that we are called upon 
this week to announce to our readers that Reverend 
G. W. Hatcher has resigned as pastor of the First 
Baptist church in this city. The announcement was 
made at the services Sunday morning, and while it 
was not entirely unexpected, yet it came as a shock 
to his faithful flock to learn that he was soon to 
leave them." 

"Brother Hatcher has labored for over thirty years 
with the people of Carroll county and they learned 
to love, admire and cherish him. He has buried their 
loved ones, married their sons and daughters, laughed 
and joked with them in times of happiness, and has 
wept, consoled and sympathized with them in times of 
sorrow and distress and through it all he has ever 
been the kind, sympathetic, lovable elder brother that 
we have all learned to love and honor." 

"We could speak volumes of the good work that he 
has done in our community and the county at large, 



186 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

but he is so well known and his work has been of 
such a nature that it came before the eyes of all and 
it would be needlessly consuming space. The people 
of Carroll county will ever remember and cherish 
a warm spot in their hearts for Brother Hatcher 
and his dear wife and their well wishes go out to 
them wherever they may be. The Republican Record 
wishes for them a pleasant sojourn and sincerely trusts 
that Brother Hatcher will speedily regain his health 
and that they will return to Carrollton to round out 
the balance of their days where they have spent the 
best years of their lives." 

The reader who knows me, may wonder how these 
editors could say such things about me. I will ex- 
plain. They were strongly prejudiced in my favor, 
because I married each of them to a noble Baptist 
girl. Having done so much for them they weighed 
me in the balance with what I had given them. 

As I have already intimated, interest in us came 
not only in word, but in deeds also. The night I 
held my last service, all the pastors in the city, having 
adjourned their service, were present. After preach- 
ing a short sermon in a whisper, I was asked to turn 
the service over to my brother pastors. Having the 
right of way, they did and said what they pleased. 
It was quite a floral offering, the fragrance of which 
lingers with me to this day, for I am sure that each 
word came from the heart of him who uttered it. 
The service was more helpful to me than any possible 
service can be held over my remains when I am dead. 



Back to Carrollton. 187 

Call it "taffy" if you will, but I much prefer "taffy" 
to epitaphy. 

When the pastors were through, then deacon John 
T. Morris, a worthy son of a worthy sire, arose and 
came to the front. He spoke very tenderly of the 
pastor and his wife and how he regretted their going. 
His remarks then took on a commercial value as he 
handed the pastor a large envelope that had written 
upon it this inscription: "Presented to Brother G. W. 
Hatcher and wife as a small token of the love, re- 
spect and esteem in which they are held by the mem- 
bership of the First Baptist church of Carrollton, 
Missouri. 'As thy days are, so may thy strength be.' ' 

This envelope contained one hundred and thirty- 
five dollars, which was given us "to pay our way 
back" when the purpose of our going was accomplish- 
ed. This amount was afterward increased to one 
hundred and seventy-five dollars. This was "dealing 
in futures" but was not at all objectionable to either 
pastor or his wife. In fact, we rather enjoyed the 
ring of Brother Morris' speech. 

Thus terminated the second pastorate with this dear 
people. We left them not knowing that we would 
ever see them again. We set our faces toward the 
setting sun in search of air and sunshine that would 
bring relief to body, hope to mind, and cheer to soul. 
That I am in good physical shape to-day and have 
been for years, proves that I found relief, but where 
and how? 



CHAPTER XIX 
In Long Beach, California. 

Having been told repeatedly by different medical ad- 
visers that the restoration of my voice hinged upon 
my finding a suitable climate, I at once made up my 
mind to leave Missouri. Had I been told that I 
needed weather, much of it and in great varities, I 
would not have thought of going any where but out 
doors and staying about forty-eight hours. 

Mark Twain has said that when preparation was 
being made for the great "World's Fair" at Chicago, 
an agent came to Hannibal in search of "samples of 
weather." After spending a couple of days and nights 
in that locality, he returned to Chicago, carrying with 
him some very fine "samples of all the weather there 
is." What is true of Hannibal is equally true of olher 
points in Missouri; not much climate, but lots of 
weather. 

I had visited California a few years previous to 
my breakdown, and was very favorably impressed 
with its attractions, especially its sunshine and ocean 
air. So we started to California. Our friends in 
Carrollton made provision for our journey. Knowing 
that we would be about three days en route, the ladies 
prepared three lunches and labeled them, one basket 
for each day. On our way to the train one good 
sister gave my wife a small package and told her 

188 



In Long Beach, California. 189 

to eat it at noon that day and not to throw any of 
it away and not to divide it with her husband. At 
once woman's curiosity asserted itself. When we 
were on the train and bundles and baskets placed 
for the long ride, she said : "I wonder what is in this 
paper. I am a little bit hungry, for I did not eat 
much breakfast. I believe I will open it." I did not 
oppose it, not because of my curiosity, but because I 
was anxious to know what was in that paper. She 
untied it and found some nice sandwiches nicely tied 
with blue ribbon. She was not satisfied. She went 
deeper. She separated piece from piece and her labor 
was richly rewarded, for she found hidden away in 
that bread a very valuable gold coin. Then it was 
hard for me to keep her from inspecting all the bread 
in the other packages. She seemed to have an idea 
that all the bread had the same ingredient, but in 
this she was disappointed. It was all good and sweet 
and wholesome, but did not have the golden glow that 
the other had. 

Early in October we reached Long Beach, a 
beautiful city right on the coast, with electric car 
connection with Los Angeles and all points of interest 
in southern California. We rented three rooms fur- 
nished, and were "at home" to all our friends. 

As if to make us feel at home we had rain, thunder 
and lightning the next day after we arrived. It 
was the beginning of the rainy season, and this means 
much to the Californian. No rain clouds have been 
seen for months; the earth is as brown and barren 



190 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

where there is no irrigation, as is the big road. The 
number of inches of rain now is a forecast of what 
the harvest is to be. 

This season is properly named for it surely does 
rain. It rains when you are looking for it and when 
you are not; it rains at night and during the day; 
it rains straight down and crossways; it rains in little 
drops and in big ones; it dashes and splashes; it 
drizzle-drazzles and sizzle-sozzles ; it rains when it 
is cloudy and when it is clear; it rains morning, noon 
and night and then it rains some more. It is rain, 
rain, rain. 

But the thunder and lightning was very unusual. It 
attracted much attention on the part of the natives. 
It is of rare occurrence in that part of the world, so 
much so as to call forth the statement by many "I 
never saw a storm like this in California before." 

I had not been there long until I found a great deal 
of this "unusual weather." A real chilly wind would 
come from the ocean and it was pronounced "very 
unusual." In a few days a hot wind would blow from 
the interior bringing sand and dirt and this was also 
"very unusual." In fact nearly everything in California 
I found to be "unusual." I heard a story that amused 
me while it forcefully illustrates this point. A gentle- 
man was invited into a home, where there was only 
one child and it was three years old. It took a very 
severe crying spell. The father said : "This is very 
unusual. I never heard this child cry this way be- 
fore." My objection to California, if I have one, is 



In Long Beach, California. 191 

this "unusual" element that is found in so many places 
and people. 

Having located myself, I gave myself over entirely 
to the task of "getting well." I let my wife do all 
the talking, an easy task for her, and I gave my 
voice absolute rest. For three months I attempted 
no public service. I kept myself in the open, breath- 
ing the salt air. I would stand on the pier that runs 
twenty-seven hundred feet out into the ocean with my 
face seaward, and closing my mouth, take one long, 
deep breath after another, until I could taste salt. In 
the course of time, this eliminated all the catarrh from 
my system and made me sound and well. So much 
so that this trouble has never returned. 

I found much to entertain me during this "lay off" 
from the work to which my life had been given. I 
am fond of fish and fishing and I had both to my 
heart's content. No place beats the ocean for fish- 
ing. No man knows what he is going to hook on 
to for they are all there. He may hook a devil-fish or 
a whale, or none at all. There are "off days" there, 
as they are everywhere, for fishermen. Some days 
I would come home richly rewarded for all my labor, 
bringing fish enough for home consumption and for 
several of my neighbors. My largest catch was one 
weighing twenty-two and one-half pounds. Had I 
guessed it off, it would have been fifty. But no fish 
ever weighed up to expectations, nor measured up 
to looks. I put in a part of my spare time with la 



192 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

grippe and this is the way it served me, I shall never 
forget it : 

It struck me in the middle and then it pulled 
both ways; it tied me up in knots until I was almost 
crazed. 

It jumped into my chest and knocked the bottom 
out and then it rushed up to my head and ran out at 
my snout. 

It took a whirl along, my spine and up and down did 
trot, until I thought that my backbone was nothing 
but pain knots. 

It went to bed right in my front and there it laid 
like lead, until I thought within my soul that I was 
almost dead. 

Then up it got and went to work and grabbed me 
by the swallow, and made me cough and sneeze as 
long as I could holler. 

And then it did its very zuorst as if to make me sin, 
it went to work upon my pipes and thus shut off my 
wind. 

I sneezed and whooped and writhed in pain, for I 
was out of breath, and well I knew unless I breathed 
it was a case of death. 

So with a snort and mighty puff I made it go again 
and people thought as they passed by, it was a railroad 
train. 

I've had the chills and mumps and measles and 
have been very sick, but never did I have before a 
thing so like "Old Nick." 



In Long Beach, California. 193 

When I got up and out again and thought upon this 
matter, I found that I was well three zveeks, before 
I felt any better. 

Should I ever have another bout with this relent- 
less foe, I'll throw up my hands, turn up my toes, and 
say: "I have no show." 

Am glad to say that I never had the second attack 
while in California. The gold of California is worth 
seeking, but California grippe is to be avoided, if pos- 
sible. 

I have always thought that I brought this attack 
on myself by listening to the advice of my wife. As 
is usually the case, in most of our troubles there was 
"a woman at the bottom of it." She thought I ought 
to have my beard removed. She said I would look 
younger, prettier and sweeter. What a temptation, 
youth, beauty and sweetness all combined on one face. 

What was Eve's apple to Adam in comparison with 
that which her fair daughter presented to one of his 
vain sons ? I submitted, as every well-trained husband 
invariably does, and, in a jiffy, off came a suit of 
whiskers which, for years had done guard duty for 
face and throat. When I came home from the barber 
shop, I passed the inspection of the aforesaid daughter 
of Eve. She comforted me by telling me that I not 
only looked younger, prettier and sweeter but also, 
the world would now know that I had some chin as 
well as cheek, and in addition to this, all would know 
that I was not a two-faced man, for if I had another 
I would never take this one out of my room. All 
13 



194 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

these advantages never, in my mind, balanced what I 
suffered while wrestling with grippe. 

We were not in California very long before we met 
friends of other days. Missouri men and women are 
like Missouri mules, in one respect at least, they are 
in evidence everywhere and usually are making good 
and upholding the good name of their imperial state. 
In church, at Long Beach, soon after my arrival, I 
met a woman whom I had baptized fifteen years be- 
fore in Carrollton. I soon found W. H. Truitt and 
family; also Roy, his brother. These made us feel 
at home. Carrollton was also represented in I. R. 
Brown and family; also George Belcher and family. 
It was our good fortune to eat Christmas dinner with 
Mr. Belcher and family. We were invited to meet 
other Missourians on that occasion. We had a Mis- 
souri dinner prepared by a Missouri cook, a la Mis- 
souri style. We had an old Missouri ham and old 
Missouri appetites. The menu ranged from raw 
oysters to turkey and other substantial with an abun- 
dance of ice cream and cake thrown in. 

The fates- were against me that day, for, about half 
past eleven I had a chill which so shook me up that 
I could not go to the table. It was hard on me to 
stay in bed and be deprived of all the good things that 
were being devoured, but I had it to to. About four 
o'clock I staggered into the dining room and looked 
upon the wreck. I found fragments enough to meet 
the demands of a dozen or two fever-scorched unfor- 
tunates. My appetite was soon satisfied and I went 



In Long Beach, California. 195 

away feeling that no greater calamity could befall a 
man of my size, age and disposition than to be brought 
in close proximity to such a dinner as Mrs. Belcher 
prepared and then be chilled out of it. 

In Mr. Belcher we find an illustration of the fact 
that a Missouri plant can grow in California soil. 
He had a ranch ; mostly in vineyard. He had 100,000 
vines which bore, the year I visited him, 800 tons of 
grapes. He hauled off fifty-five tons per day for 
twelve consecutive days. If the product of his vine- 
yard, that year, had been spread out in driers two 
inches deep and the driers had been placed one foot 
apart, it would have required fourteen acres of ground 
to have it spread. 

He and his foreman, with two teams raised nine 
hundred and sixty-five tons of grapes. Besides the 
vineyard, this force cultivated sixteen acres of orange 
trees. He cleared forty per cent on his investment that 
year. That beats preaching a long shot in dollars and 
cents. One element in his success was his wife, for 
in her he found a woman, that, for energy, grace, 
sense, snap, push and pull, and all the qualities that 
go to make up a model wife and mother, cannot be 
excelled between the Atlantic and the Pacific, the lakes 
and the Gulf of Mexico. 

I also found Missouri preachers on the ground and 
at the front J. Herndon Garnett, pastor at Santa Ana, 
and also president of the "Pastors' Conference" of 
southern California and chairman of the State Board 



196 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

of Missions was one of the most genial and best be- 
loved preachers on the coast. 

W. L. Tucker, pastor of Calvary church, Los An- 
geles, for a while pastor in Kansas City, Missouri, 
was one of the strong men of the brotherhood. 
Thoughtful, forceful and scriptural in his preaching; 
evangelistic in his methods, he stirred up his people 
and was a power for God in southern California. 

H. E. Marshall, was at Lompoc. He went there 
when the Baptist cause was at low tide. He not 
only preached and did pastoral work, but he took off 
his coat, rolled up his sleeves and with hatchet and 
hammer and the help of his brethren, enlarged and 
refitted his church and went rapidly to the front. He 
soon had the church of the town. 

I enjoyed meeting Reverend A. P. Graves, the ven- 
erable evangelist, who was then living in Los Angeles. 
He was old and feeble, but the "fire of the Lord" 
burned in his heart and glowed in his face and gave 
warmth to his speech. He was appointed to conduct 
a "Prayer Service" for the convention one afternoon. 
It was high tide in devotion during the fifteen minutes 
given him. After reading a short lesson and talking 
out of the depths of an enriched experience, he had 
each one to lock hands with the one on each side of 
him and then as many as would do so were asked to 
pray: "Lord, bless this convention, this year." It 
was an inspiration to see a large crowd, standing with 
heads bowed and hands clasped and hear one after 
another, both men and women, pray that prayer. If 



In Long Beach, California. 197 

at any time during that convention, the halo of divine 
glory gathered around that body and heaven and earth 
touched, it was during the fifteen minutes devoted to 
that prayer service. 

I enjoyed meeting other brethren who were strangers 
to me. They all "took me in ;" cheered me and were 
eager to help me. The Long Beach brethren 
were very brotherly to me and other preachers 
who were down and out. The pastor of this 
church, J. Lewis Smith, was exceedingly kind. I 
found him to be a staunch Baptist, loyal to the Bible, 
and fearless and uncompromising in preaching it. He 
was a fine scholar and a close, hard student. He 
and his church went so far in their sympathy and 
desire to help me as to make me "assistant pastor." 
For several months I served in this capacity. He 
did the preaching and I did the visiting and taking 
care of the "big dinners," which was much to my 
liking. This kind of work kept me out in the air and 
sunshine and gave me the full benefits of the climate 
and at the same time enabled me to meet expenses. 
Wife and I could not live on climate, but with this 
arrangement we were enabled to live in it. 

In my work in California I found a good many "new 
things." There seemed to be a mania for something 
new under the sun. In politics, religion, business, 
education, in fact, in everything there is a disposition 
to get away from "traditions" and strike out on new 
independent lines. In that climate everything, plants, 
trees, shrubs, as well as flowers, blooms and blossoms. 



198 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

This is especially true of "isms," "fads," "fancies," 
"cults," and "ologies." There they were concentrated 
and were growing luxuriantly. To find the latest 
and most up-to-date brand, a man did not have to 
travel very far nor fast. On my rounds, I frequently 
passed "The Psychological Church." One day, I 
noticed on the bill board this announcement: "At 
eleven a. m. the pastor will discuss The Psychological 
Effect of Thought Upon the Present Financial Con- 
dition." I was reminded of a story that I once heard. 
Bishop Haygood had addressed a large crowd of ne- 
groes. He was a splendid "negro preacher" and had 
them going in great shape. A good old colored sister 
sat in a chair right in front of him. She had her head 
upholstered in a red bandana handkerchief, padded 
with short, kinky hair, which protruded far enough 
to rustle in the breeze created by the turkey tail 
which she kept vigorously in motion. At the close of 
the sermon, "announcements" were called for, where- 
upon a big, black, bushy-headed son of Ham arose, 
shining in broadcloth from tip to toe and in a deep, 
holy tone said: "This afternoon I's gwine to deliber 
er lecture on infidelity. I's egwine to view de sub- 
ject from er cos mological standpoint." The old sister 
mentioned, listened attentively and then, with her 
hands raised and the white of her eyes much in 
evidence, she exclaimed : "Good Lord !" So I thought 
as I read that heavy announcement, for I no more 
knew what was coming than did she, but was so over- 



In Long Beach, California. 199 

whelmed with its awfulness as to mentally give place 
to the old sister's expression. 

Psychology was in the air in California as truly as 
in other places. It was made prominent in secular 
teaching and was demanding recognition in religious 
teaching. While there, I heard a lecture on "Psycho- 
logy and the Bible." The speaker illustrated his lec- 
ture using a chart of his own making. It was marked 
with different colors and looked something like a 
geological chart, showing by means of strata dif- 
ferently tinted, the age of the earth. So this chart 
had one color to represent memory; another, reason; 
another, will ; and so on through the list of mental and 
moral faculties. It was shown that at a certain age 
one faculty began to exercise its powers; at another 
age another asserted itself. Now, in order to ascer- 
tain what to teach at any particular period of child 
development you must find out how far the child has 
gone in its mental and moral unfolding. If the 
"psychological moment" has come, teach it Christ and 
the Bible and religion ; if not, tell it stories ; amuse it ; 
hold it until there is a "psychological" foundation for 
your instruction. Then pour in your religious truth 
and the child will be psychologically and scientifically 
converted. That, without a theological conversion, 
is far better than a theological minus a psychological 
conversion. As I sat and listened to this astounding 
outburst of profundity I sank down into its awful 
depths and went to dreaming. I was again in my old 
home away back in old Kentucky; I saw the old 



200 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

"Farmer's Almanac" hanging over the fire place; I 
saw my father take it down and consult it. He looked 
at that figure on the first inside page, the man with 
the "open front" and fishes and lobsters and lions 
about him. What did my father want to know? He 
had some calves and colts to wean and he wanted to 
know "if the sign was right." 

I saw my mother take down that same piece of 
sacred household furnishing and look gravely at that 
same picture. What was she hunting? A child in 
age and strength had reached the "weaning time" and 
she was consulting the chart to ascertain whether or 
not "the sign was right." 

Then in my thought, I went into the twentieth cen- 
tury, up to date, Sunday school room. Hanging on 
the walls were maps and mottoes, but bigger and 
brighter than any of these was a chart which was 
oftener consulted by men and women who anxiously 
and eagerly scanned its line and carefully noted its 
data. What were they seeking? They had children 
in their classes and they were anxious to know "if 
the sign was right." If it was, according to the chart, 
they would teach these children Jesus; if not, they 
would just keep on teaching other things. 

Then, in my dream, I went into the preaching 
service. An application for membership was pending. 
A question had to be settled, and that question was: 
"What evidence have we from a psychological stand- 
point, that this child is converted ?" In order to settle 
this question the child was called upon to answer two 



In Long Beach, California. 201 

psychological questions: "1. What was your mental 
conception as to the process through which you would 
have to pass in case you were converted? 2. Describe, 
in detail, the moral crisis through which you have 
passed and if you have had more than one momentous 
crisis let us have the story." These questions ex- 
hausted my stock of patience and in my rashness I 
exclaimed : "Psychological Fiddlesticks !" Give me the 
old way of repentance towards God and faith in Jesus 
Christ. That I know to be scriptural and that is good 
enough for me." During the wrangle that ensued, 
brought on by what I had said, I awoke and re- 
joiced that it was "only a dream." 

But that is where this hobby will lead if we are 
not careful. Hobbies are noted for carrying their 
riders where they had no idea of going and never 
bringing them back. In this "Psychological' 'church 
of which I have spoken a "revival" was held in which 
the preaching was done by a very noted Baptist 
preacher of the south. I have yet to learn whether 
that preacher evangelized that psychological church or 
that church psychologized that preacher. 

During my stay in Long Beach some things were 
sources of perpetual joy to me, one of which was the 
ocean. Its ceaseless ebb and flow, its changing tints 
and its breaking, booming, billows, were constant re- 
minders of the presence and power of Him who made 
it. I never felt nearer Him than when I was upon 
its broad bosom, out of sight of land with nothing 
in view, save the sky above and the great expanse 



202 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

of water around me and all mine as much mine as 
was the air or the sunshine. Thinking of it in this 
way, I was reminded of the old colored woman in 
Virginia who had led a skimped life and had a hard 
time making "tongue and buckle meet." When she 
stood on the beach with a great body of water stretch- 
ing far away in the distance, she placed her hands up- 
on her hips and with her eyes protruding and shining 
like new coins, she exclaimed : "Bless de Lawd ; I'se 
done seed one thing in my time what dar's en miff uv." 

It was interesting to watch the surf-bathers, and one 
time I was so reckless and thoughtless as to try it 
myself. I went into the bath-house and called for 
the necessary equipment and when it was brought to 
me I was shocked. It looked, to me, like it had 
been used roughly and as a result top and bottom had 
been removed, leaving only a center piece. It did 
not come up high enough, neither did it go down low 
enough. It was short at both ends. It did not take 
long to get the short thing on and out I went. 

I was dazed, for I was always timid and bashful. 
I faced the biggest crowd I had ever seen on the 
beach and all eyes were apparently, centered on me 
and I had no protection. I tried to pull up the upper 
end of the suit and failed and then tried to pull 
down the lower end and was rewarded with another 
failure. I never felt as much like I was all out doors 
in all my life. I reckon I would have retreated in a 
hurry had it not been for my wife. She saw my 
nervous state brought on by my lack of covering 



In Long Beach, California. 203 

and in order to stimulate and encourage me, she said 
to me, in a low, soft, sweet whisper: "Come on, they 
are not looking at you. They are looking at me." 

With this shifting of the scenery I struck a trot 
and never stopped until I was covered by the waves. 
The water chilled me ; in fact I was chilled before I 
reached it. I stood it as long as I could, I was hoping 
all the time that the crowd would disperse and leave 
me "to blush unseen," but no sir. They were out 
sight-seeing and I was a sight, and they saw me again 
but it was the last time, for, after that I took my 
ocean bath in the swimming pool filled with ocean 
water with temperatures raised to about eighty de- 
grees. 

Another feature of California that was very in- 
teresting to me was its "belts." It wears more belts 
than any state in the union. It has its "lemon belts." 
its "beet belts," its "olive belts," its "apricot belts," 
its "orange belts," and I don't know how many more. 
I enjoyed its orange belt more than any other. I had 
longed all my life, for the privilege of being in an 
orange grove and pulling oranges from the tree and 
eating them, as I had pulled and eaten apples and 
other fruit. This boon came to me in California, to 
my entire satisfaction. I never ate such oranges; 
so delicious, because they were well matured. I don't 
know how many I ate, but have figured on it a little 
with this result: I 8, 1 and my wife 8, 1, 2. I ate 
as many as did she, therefore I 8, 1+8, 1, 2=893. I 

may have missed it in my figures, but when I 



204 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

finished eating oranges I felt the need of a mother- 
hubbard with no belt. While in the orange grove I 
was constantly reminded of weddings. The fragrance 
and the abundance of orange blossoms make it an 
ideal country in which to consummate this wise busi- 
ness venture. If I had not been encumbered I don't 
think I could have resisted the inclination to attend a 
California wedding with its rich orange flavor. Am 
sure I would have made an effort to have company 
on my return trip to Missouri. 

It is astonishing what stunts people will pull off 
when they are among strangers. I am no exception, 
for while on the coast, I played scientist and delivered 
a very scientific lecture on the "Aurora borealis" or 
"Northern Light." Nothing like it was ever heard 
on that coast before and am sure nothing like it since. 
It was new; not a line or word of "tradition" in 
it. I evolved it out of my inner consciousness. It was 
so unique and so far from what I had ever read or 
heard that I am disposed to insert it here that the 
reader may have the benefit of all the light it sheds. 
The occasion was a church entertainment. I was in- 
troduced as Doctor Headlight and I gave utterance 
to the following: 

Preachers should be well informed on all important 
questions; not simply questions evangelical, ecclesi- 
astical and biblical, but scientific as well. It is their 
privilege not only to keep up with the procession, but, 
occasionally to step to the front and lift the torch 
of their genius and throw light on dark problems 



In Long Beach, California. 205 

that have baffled the skill of all others. I have as 
much right to throw light on the Northern Light as 
on any other subject. In fact more light is given on 
this subject in what I say than is given on many 
questions that have been discussed by men in the dark. 

No one has ever told us what the "Northern Light" 
is. A teacher once put the question to his class: 
"What is the Aurora borealis?" A boy in the class 
said: "Professor, I have forgotten." "What a pity," 
said the teacher, "the only one who ever knew has for- 
gotten it." Poor ignorant teacher, bright boy! 

Webster in denning the thing fails to define, but 
how is a man to define what he does not know. His 
first definition is: "A northern daybreak." This is 
wide of the mark for two reasons: 1. Day breaks in 
the east and not in the north. 2. Day breaks in the 
morning and not in the night. His second definition 
is: "A luminous meteoric phenomenon, supposed to 
be of electrical origin." Here is a supposition where 
a definition is needed, and to "suppose" is to leave 
the "northern light" in total darkness. 

The Brittanica devotes eight pages to this topic 
and closes the investigation with this remarkably clear 
statement: "Although we must confess that the 
causes of the Aurora are very imperfectly explained, 
we may hope that the rapid progress which the last 
few years have witnessed in bringing terrestrial mag- 
netism, under the domain of cosmical laws may soon 
be extended and that we shall see it in fresh evidence, 
that the same forces which cause hurricanes in the 



206 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

solar atmosphere, thrill sympathetically to the furth- 
erest planets of our system in waves not only of light 
and heat, but of magnetism and electricity. " 

Here, Mr. H. R. Proctor is hoping for some one 
to explain to the world what no one, up to his day, 
had been able to make clear. Now, the only strange 
thing about this whole matter is that the solution, 
which I give has never been announced to the world. 
Men have been in possession of the facts, all along; 
settled facts that take the subject out of the domain 
of doubt and mystery and put it in the clear light 
of demonstration. 

I shall discuss first the cause of the Northern Light, 
and in discussing it, I want to adhere rigidly to 
facts, for with these facts we will unlock every door 
between us and this light. 

Now, we all know that this earth turns on its axis. 
This truth is taught in every school in the land. The 
doctrine of revolution is universally accepted if evolu- 
tion is not. From the time that mother earth swung 
out into space, until this day, she has daily taken her 
turn. She not only has her axis but she has her poles ; 
her north and south pole. So daily she is in her 
gymnasium turning on her axis, using her two poles. 
Here are three facts which are furnished us: 1. She 
turns. 2. She turns on her axis. 3. She uses two 
poles in thus turning. Now stick a peg here. We will 
use these three facts as keys in working the combina- 
tion. 



In Long Beach, California. 207 

Since this great ponderous earth turns on its axis, 
is it at all strange that there should be light and heat 
where the pole turns on the axis? Could a pole, 
strong enough to hold up the heft of mother earth 
turn daily on an axis and not cause friction? Cer- 
tainly not. Then the light is simply a hot axis, the 
result of the grinding of the pole under the immense 
weight of the earth. It is brought about just as a 
hot box is on the railroad car. The wheels fly around 
under the weight of the car, the axis is heated and 
gets hotter until actually it blazes. The earth carries 
more weight and goes faster and where is the wonder 
in the blazing of the pole at the axis? The great 
wonder is that this has not been thought of before. 

But, why is this light in the north and not in the 
south, also? Is there not a pole and axis at the 
south? Does mother earth spend all her time in the 
gym. north and never take a turn south of Mason 
and Dixon's line? In this matter "there is no dif- 
ference." She uses her south pole and axis as often 
as she uses her pole and axis in the north. Since 
the light is the result of friction caused by weight, 
it is evident that there is more weight north of the 
equator than there is south. Now look on your map 
of the world and what do you see? Where are the 
heavy things north or south of the earth's center? 
Where is North America? Where is "Uncle Sam?" 
Where is Missouri? Where is Kentucky? Where 
are the things that pull down? These are all on the 
road that leads to the north pole, the heft of which 



208 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

the north and not the south pole carries. How 
strange, that in the face of all the facts, known to 
everybody, our scientists persist in talking about elec- 
trical phenomenon, terrestrial magnetism etc., when the 
plain, simple explanation is in the fact that the end of 
the north pole is on fire. Now, since the weight that 
causes the pressure that produces the friction that 
kindles the fire is always present, why does not the 
fire always burn and why are not "northern lights" 
in evidence every night? This point is well taken 
and leads to the discussion, in the second place of 
the disappearance of these lights. 

We have always been taught that in that Polar 
region it is extremely cold, that snow, and especially 
ice, perpetually abounds. This makes it a splendid 
place for slipping as well as turning. Note well this 
fact, for it is one ingredient in the solution of our 
problem. Another fact that must not be overlooked 
is, that this region is the home of the polar bear and 
that he excels all animals in the amount of curiosity 
in stock; in fact he "bears the market." 

Now Bruin is somewhat of a gymnast himself and 
is especially fond of climbing and turning. So, when 
he gets on this north pole covered with ice, the end 
of which is on fire, of course his curiosity is excited 
and like Moses at the burning bush, he draws nigh 
to see what it means. The heat has affected the ice 
on the pole and Mr. Bruin slips into the fire. He is 
crushed by the turning pole, the axis is thoroughly 
greased with bear's oil, and as the gudgeons are now 



In Long Beach, California. 209 

oiled the friction is overcome and the fire is subdued 
and the light disappears. So every time the light 
ceases to shine, you may know another bear has 
fallen into this machinery. 

In addition to this, let us keep well in mind the fact 
that the heat at the end of the pole would naturally 
melt the ice and the water would run down the pole 
and so cool the axis that the bear's oil would not 
all be consumed at once. Therefore, as long as the 
oil holds out there is no hot box. As soon as the 
fire is put out and the axis is cold, the water begins 
to freeze again and soon everything is in normal con- 
dition. 

We have now reached thirdly in this discussion. 
Why does this light re-appear? For the very same 
reason that it appeared at first. The weight is there ; 
the axis is there ; the pole is there, and the pole con- 
tinues to turn and grind on the axis. Heat is gen- 
erated and increases until there is another blaze. This 
blazing continues until another bear contributes his 
quota of oil, then there is a fall of the mercury which 
continues until heat is again generated and friction 
sets up again and then another blaze and another bear. 
This process will continue until the bears are all 
ground up, then things will get so hot around that 
north pole that all the snow and ice will melt and 
there will be an open seat, and the water will quench 
the fire and Uncle Sam's explorers will nail the stars 
and stripes to that pole and the "northern light" will 
be the light of civilization around the pole and excur- 
14 



210 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

sions to the north pole will be made in airships. No 
more rivalries and jealousies among explorers; no 
more loss of life amid ice floes; but all one open 
tropical sea. "So mote it be." 

It is needless to say that the lecture made a deep 
and lasting impression. Nobody could say, knowing- 
ly, that it was not true for in the absence of positive 
facts to the contrary, the theory stands. All were 
grateful for the coming of the Missourian who was 
able to "show them" what no living man had ever 
before enabled them to see. As this lecture dealt 
with things at the top, I made it my last, for fear 
of a come down. 

My stay of eight months in California was my 
longest vacation. It was one continual round of ex- 
citement of one kind or another. The flowers, the 
season, the climate, the scenery, the natives, the 
tourists were all objects of interest to me. Of all 
places known to me, it is the best place to spend the 
evening of life. So much to see and hear. After 
the rush of life is over; after the bolt is shot and 
the work is done, to go to the land of sunshine and 
flowers and stay a while is to prepare for heaven. 
It will not be such a surprise, for the change will 
not be so great. Since coming away I have wondered 
why more business men, who have made their for- 
tune and have retired from business do not go there 
to end their days. Why, instead of staying in a 
climate where they are shut in all winter they do not 



In Long Beach, California. 211 

go where they can get out every day and keep in touch 
with the world, is a mystery. 

As I was not old enough to think much about the 
evening of life, and as I had not made my fortune, 
and as I had found what I went for, the time came 
for me to leave. I was no longer incapacitated for 
work, but could not think of trying to root myself 
in that soil. I longed for the open door and when it 
came, with pleasing recollections of place and people, 
I said good-bye to the Pacific coast. 



CHAPTER XX. 
In Canon City, Colorado. 

In making a change in location I could not look 
to the west for I was there. I could go no further 
without "taking water" and that is something a true 
Kentuckian does not enoy to any great extent. I 
naturally turned my face to the east and watched 
and waited. I did not have long to wait. I re- 
ceived a letter from Dr. Wilkinson of Canon City, 
Colorado, asking me to consider a call from the Bap- 
tist church of that place. I had some knowledge of 
the place and people through Dr. B. E. Harl at 
whose ordination in Saline county, many years be- 
fore, I was present and to whom I "delivered the 
charge." 

I told the brother to call and I would answer. The 
call came and on June the first 1908, I entered upon 
the work. I had been out of the regular pastorate 
longer than at any time since my ordination, and as 
I was hungry for it, I took it up with peculiar relish. 

The Canon City brethren were a noble, loyal bunch. 
For twelve years they had been led and fed by Dr. 
Harl, a prince among men and a leader in the Lord's 
hosts. For six years he was moderator of the Colo- 
rado Baptist Convention and was the most influential 
preacher in the state. On account of failing health 
he was forced to give up the pastorate and all preach- 

212 



In Canon City, Colorado. 213 

ing which was a great loss to his denomination. He 
was a rigid landmark Baptist. He fed his people on 
Gospel milk and meat; hence they were a stalwart 
set. Every member was a Baptist and some of 
them a "Baptist and a half." They were 
very slow to take up untried methods. Their 
conservatism in the judgment of some, prevented their 
growth in members and efficiency. 

I was never afraid of the team running away with 
the wagon. They would all stand hitched and were 
not at all to be scared. They did about as well when 
the pastor was absent as when he was present. That 
was due to their training, for it has been said that 
"he trains his people best who trains them to do with- 
out him." 

This work I enjoyed very much. I preached two 
hundred sermons and baptized twenty-three converts 
during my stay of nearly two years. While it was 
town work, it had in it a large country element. 
There were a great many "ranchers" among them. 
The town extended out into the ranches and the 
ranches extended into the town, thus giving us a 
happy blending of town and ranch life. This con* 
dition enabled me to do town work in the country 
and country work in the town, thus combining in my 
self the town and country preacher. 

The town was beautifully located. It was in the 
Arkansas valley right at the mouth of the Royal 
Gorge, one of the wonders of the world. It is worth 
a trip across the contineut to go through that Gorge. 



214 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

I have gone through it on the train ; have gone through 
it on foot and gone to the top of it and looked down 
into its half mile depths. Here, in strong rivalry, 
we see the power of natural forces and the skill and 
ingenuity of man. To attempt to construct a rail- 
road through that Gorge, where bridges must be sus- 
pended, tunnels must be drilled, and the narrow walls 
widened in places, was, seemingly to do the "ondoable," 
yet it was done and so well done as to make thai 
road a favorite trans-continental route. 

Canon City is walled in on three sides with moun- 
tains. This makes a fine climate and affords much 
protection from storms. The land is rich and well 
adapted to gruit growing. The Arkansas river affords 
water for irrigation. The soil will grow nearly any- 
thing you put into it, if supplied with water. I never 
fully appreciated what the Bible has to say about water 
making the desert blossom until I went to California 
and Colorado. Water is the only thing that can work 
this transformation. Until you turn water onto it, the 
land which is sand, gravel, cactus and sage brush is 
practically worthless. But when you have cleared it, 
plowed it, planted it and then irrigated it, the effect is 
as marvelous as that ever wrought by a magician's 
wand. I have never seen fruits and vegetables reach 
a higher state of perfection than is reached in this 
valley. I did not know that there was room enough 
on trees to grow what I saw hanging on the boughs 
of fruit trees. Change all the apples, on trees in this 
country into twins and you would not have as large an 



In Canon City, Colorado. 215 

apple family as is found on the Colorado tree. Con- 
vert the cherries into triplets and the crop would not 
be equal to Colorado's yield. Fruit is the main crop and 
when it fails, as it sometimes does, the bottom drops 
out. To prevent a fruit crop failure, there must be 
wide awake diligence. You must irirgate and fumi- 
gate, prune and smudge and do a whole lot of other 
things. 

As far as I am concerned I had much rather culti- 
vate forty acres of corn in Missouri than to run a 
three-acre ranch in Colorado. Too many things have 
to be done. It is a little here and a little there and 
much everywhere. It looks like all would be drunk 
most of the time, as a result of constant rapid turning 
around. But these people are so in love with this 
business that it is to them a ''merry-go-round." They 
all have the "go" in them. I never saw such a place 
for "vacations" and "trips" and visits." People who 
live where tourists go for rest and recreation go else- 
where for theirs. They will go, by families, to other 
places, spend a year or the winter or summer and come 
back to the old nest. There are many places that bid 
for patronage. Some seek quietude ; some altitude and 
some some other tude. Some love the mountains, others 
the valleys, while others hunt the canons. But there is 
such a variety of these things that no one need to fail 
in not finding what he wants. A great many will go 
on a picnic to the near-by places of interest. People 
who have lived there for years, take as much interest 



216 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

in visiting these points as tourists do. They never 
lose their charms. 

On account of this migratory spirit in the people it 
is difficult to do permanent work in the churches. The 
personnel of a congregation changes rapidly. About 
the time you get people gentle enough to bridle, they 
are up and off. When you begin to think you have a 
good team and begin to plan for a big crop, your leaders 
will slip the bridle and seek other fields. I don't 
know a better field in which to do mission work. 
When people are converted in Colorado, like thistle 
down, they are likely to be carried into every place to 
drop down and propagate their faith. 

The "rural church" is not in evidence in Colorado. 
People live on ranches, in canons, in valleys, and on 
the mountain side, but the churches are all in the towns 
and cities. This fact gives each church a country flavor 
and gives all the people town and city airs. 

To evangelize this great moving mass is quite a task, 
but heroic efforts are being made by all the denomina- 
tions. Baptists are aggressive in Colorado. They 
have enough to do to test their faith, love and loyalty. 
The pleasure of my short stay in Colorado was marred 
by my wife's failing health. For some years she had 
been the victim of nervous trouble. The altitude at 
Canon City seemed to aggravate it. It just suited me 
but worked against her. I have often wondered why 
it is that women cannot live as near heaven as men can. 
There, we were just one mile above sea level, and 
had to come down because it was too high for her. 



In Canon City, Colorado. 217 

We battled with her trouble until finally she was taken 
to the hospital in Pueblo, where she submitted to a 
serious operation. The longest, darkest period of my 
life, that is to say, more length and darkness while it 
lasted, was the one hour and fifteen minutes during 
this operation. She met it bravely, recovered rapidly 
and eleven days from the time she was operated on, 
I had her in our home again. She never graced the 
home more gracefully than she did on her return. 
Things had sorter run down and gotten balled and 
tangled up while she was away. I am not an expert at 
housekeeping; she is. Hence the difference. She 
sweeps every day. I swept once, and that just before 
I brought her home and I raised such a dust, that I 
was glad I had not tried it oftener. She moves out 
every thing and sweeps out all the corners and crev- 
ices ; I move nothing and let the corners alone. No- 
body is going to look under the bed and in the corners 
for dirt on coming in, and unless they look for it in 
these places they'll not see it. 

In her absence, I did not attempt cooking. I draw 
the line right there. There is only one thing that I 
know how to cook and that is a hard boiled tgg. My 
recipe for cooking this delicacy is to boil until the water 
gives out. If you have water enough and keep it boil- 
ing the Qgg is done when the process has ended. 

When she came home, she could not stand on her 
feet, so I rolled her chair into the kitchen, and brought 
to her the ingredients and she prepared the biscuit 
dough and I cooked it. She showed me how much 



218 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

water to put into the coffee and how much coffee to 
put into the water and we had good coffee. She then 
showed me how to prepare the beef steak, when and 
how much to salt and pepper and when to fork and 
turn it and we had delicious, juicy beefsteak. There 
we sat in our own home, at our own table; she at 
the head and I at the foot, with hot biscuit and tempt- 
ing steak, with the rich aroma of first-class coffee over 
and through it all. Gee! How we did enjoy it. No 
king and queen ever sat down to a feast in which 
gratitude, joy and satisfaction were more dominant. 
To Him who gave her back to me I owe everything 
and to the doctors, who so skillfully managed the case, 
without money and without price, save her board while 
in the hospital, I owe a debt I can never pay. I shall 
ever cherish their kindness, and that of the many who 
sorrowed with us and in everything they could do 
lightened our burden. 

The hospital experience was very helpful to my 
wife, but I knew it would take time and close atten- 
tion to restore her to her usual health. 

I found it very difficult to do the amount of work 
that my field demanded and at the same time give to 
her the time and attention that her condition called for. 
My people were very considerate and reasonable in 
their requirements, yet I could not feel that I was 
treating them right to hold the place and not fill it. 
I had hardly gotten the reins in my hands when all of 
this came upon me. With the difficulties incident to 
the field, added to what affliction in my home had done 



In Canon City, Colorado. 219 

for me, I felt utterly incompetent to the task. Under 
this pressure I gave up this work. My purpose, when 
I resigned, was to return to Missouri. I said when 
leaving Missouri, that I expected to die there if I lived 
and I was yet living. In addition, I recalled a remark 
I made to a dear sister in Columbia, who seemed to 
be so deeply grieved over my going away, and her 
answer. I told her that I intended, some day to come 
back to Columbia and live and die there and let my 
friends bury me and she said : "We will certainly be 
pleased to do it." Such devotion is rare and never to 
be forgotten. 

I sent a note to the Word and Way, announcing the 
fact that in the spring I expected to return to Missouri. 
This note was a feeler, or you might say, it was an 
advertisement. I was like the little boy who was told 
to pray for a little sister. He prayed but the little 
sister did not show up. One morning his mother was 
looking over the daily paper, and told him Mrs. Smith 
had a little girl. He asked his mother to read what 
was written, whereupon she read : "Born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Smith on June 1, a girl." The little fellow then 
exclaimed : "Gee, I am going to quit praying and ad- 
vertise." 

I had no idea of leaving off prayer, but I thought the 
taking on of printer's ink would help me along, hence 
the communication. 

I left Canon City with many regrets. I regretted 
that which led me to it, the physical condition of my 
wife. She had been such an inspiration to me all 



220 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

through my ministry that it was hard for me to enter- 
tain the thought, that probably she would never be able 
to help me as she had done. 

I regretted also, that I did not accomplish more 
while there. I worked as hard as I had worked else- 
where, but somehow, I could not reach results as I 
desired. It took me quite a while to learn the people 
and to adapt myself to their way of doing things. 
I never could feel that, on my part, it was a snug fit. 
I did not vote my pastorate there a failure but am 
frank to say, it fell far below my expectations. 

It was with deep regret that I had to leave the choice 
spirits whose fellowship had been so much to me, at 
a time when I so much needed that very thing. My 
stay in the state was not long enough for me to form 
a very extensive acquaintance outside of my field, but 
the brethren whom I met were brotherly in the truest 
sense of the word. The recognition they gave me, and 
the positions with which they honored me, I shall ever 
appreciate. For the membership of Canon City Bap- 
tist church I shall always have a large place in my 
memory and affection. 

Special mention must be made of Dr. C. H. Wilker- 
son, my family physician. My own brother in the flesh 
could not have been more considerate of me and more 
ready and willing to help me. He never hesitated to 
come to my assistance day or night and never would 
receive one penny for his services. Had he charged 
me the regular rate for medical visits, I would have 
been forced to "take up a collection" in order to get 



In Canon City, Colorado. 221 

away. This brotherly generosity I can never forget 
and am sure the Master will not forget it in the "Great 
Day" when rewards are distributed. 

I came away with love for all and malice towards 
none. Am glad that it fell to my lot to sojourn among 
them ; to know them and to work with them, and to 
carry away with me such loving remembrances of the 
people and the place.. 



CHAPTER XXI 

Back in Old Missouri. 

My little ad. in the Word and Way had its desired 
effect. Shortly after its insertion I received a letter 
from J. W. Sappington, a deacon in New Salem church 
in Boone county, asking me to consider the propriety 
of taking a "group of churches" in Boone county viz : 
New Salem, Ashland and Bonne Femme, preaching 
twice a month at Salem and once a month at each of 
the other churches. As I wanted to come back to Mis- 
souri, as I had a warm place in my heart for "old 
Boone," I readily said yes, and in my mind I said 
"Thank you, too." So in April, 1910, I said "farewell' 
to Colorado and in May following, I said "howdy" to 
Columbia and Boone county. I enjoyed getting back 
to the country and enjoyed taking hold again of the 
country church. 

Having lived in Columbia for eleven years, I was 
well acquainted with the personnel of these churches 
and with their conditions. All of them had been in 
existence long enough to grow some toughness and to 
develop some spirituality and to acquire much knowl- 
edge by way of experience. Some of the members 
were as old at the business as I was, and as well tried 
in their sphere as I. 

222 



Back in Old Missouri. 223 

I located in Columbia, rented two rooms and took 
my meals out, thus giving my wife time to rest up 
for she needed it. I bought me a horse and buggy 
and Hatcher and his wife, in a buggy driving "Billie" 
was not an uncommon sight on the Ashland gravel. 

The people gave us a warm, hearty reception, and 
the work was a delight. We enjoyed their hospitality 
and their church fellowship, and the Lord blessed us 
both in every way. During the two years I labored 
on this field I preached two hundred and nineteen ser- 
mons and baptized thirty-two converts. At the ex- 
piration of this period I yielded to the pressure brought 
upon me and gave up the pastorate and became the 
financial agent of Stephens College; the hardest, 
toughest, most trying job I ever had anything to do 
with. I went into it with both eyes open, but feeling 
that I could render assistance at a very critical time 
in the life of the college, I undertook it. There was 
no enthusiasm; there was no campaign on, but just 
one man going out into a frigid zone to appeal to 
people in behalf of a cause in which comparatively few 
felt any special interest. I went into many places and 
preached to the people, for I was yet a preacher, 
though not a pastor. During the eighteen months 
given to this work, I preached over two hundred ser- 
mons. 

My work was not a failure. I gathered enough in 
cash and in pledges to tide the college over the crisis 
and float it until the General Association met in Han- 
nibal when a special plea was made and enough money 



224 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

was pledged to meet the indebtedness of the college, 
about $75,000. 

Brethren E. W. Stephens, J. T. M. Johnston and W. 
W. Charters planned and executed this move, which 
was followed up by E. W. Stephens and Dr. J. J. 
Brown of Fulton. These brethren planned wisely and 
the Baptist co-operated nobly and saved the day. 

I look back upon this effort to raise money for the 
college as being, on my part, the gloomiest, most dis- 
appointing period in my whole life. The results were 
so meager in comparison with my desires and the needs 
of the institution, as to forever darken those days. I 
wanted to bring the college, financially, into its own; 
to put it upon its feet at the front. 

I bit off too much. I took in too much territory. I 
reckoned without my host. The only consolation I had 
was the fact that I raised in cash, in collections and 
in pledges nearly $20,000. This irrigated the soil, oil- 
ed the machinery and kept the college going until the 
great Hannibal rise which caused the current to be- 
come so strong as to sweep out and away the accumu- 
lations of years and bring in a new, bright day for 
the christian education of our Baptist girls. 

When this was done, my work ceased in this particu- 
lar and I resigned my position. I was glad to give it 
up. I came out of this struggle with my mind fully 
made up never again to accept an agency of any kind 
if I could in any honorable way avoid it. Before go- 
ing into it again I would want a face like flint, a heart 
like steel, blood as cold as ice water and hide, three- 



Back in Old Missouri. 225 

ply and each layer as thick and as tough as is the 
hide of a rhinoceros. I use to be vain enough to think, 
when I went to visit a church, that all were glad to 
have me come and sorry to have me leave. But while 
an agent, I often felt that this order was reversed. 
I trust I am willing and ready to do the will of the 
Lord, but when it comes to this kind of work, my 
heart will say : "Lord, please let George do it." 

When I was released from this work, I was out of 
a job. I did not advertise this time but just waited 
and looked around and kept my ear to the ground. 
In January I was called back to New Salem and Bonne 
Femme. 4shland did not see her way clear to co- 
opera' i ;■ formerly, and Huntsdale took the rest of 
my tinv This field I am now serving. Since accept- 
ing this field my record shows two hundred and four 
sermons and forty-three baptisms, with a present mem- 
bership of four hundred. In preaching to Bonne 
Femme I have the honor of being pastor of the oldest 
church in this part of the state. This church was or- 
ganized in December, 1819, and has continued its or- 
ganization until the present. It is the "mother church. " 
It is now nearly one hundred years old, has only fifty- 
four members, yet it has its Sunday school, and regular 
preaching service and is paying its way and contribut- 
ing liberally to missions. It has too much Christ in it 
to die. The descendants of the old stock are there 
and the spirit of the fathers is in the children. They 
are looking forward to 1919 when they will honor the 
15 



226 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

old mother by celebrating her one-hundredth birthday 
in a suitable way. 

New Salem was organized in 1827 and is therefore 
aging, but she is strong every way; stronger than she 
realizes. She now has a membership of three hundred ; 
all well to do, thrifty people, located in the finest agri- 
cultural section in this part of the state. She has an 
"evergreen" Sunday school, preaching two Sundays in 
each month, and a Saturday's church meeting that is 
more largely attended than any church meeting with 
which I am acquainted. We frequently have from 
seventy-five to eighty present and more men than 
women. The congreagtions are large at the regular 
Sunday services. This is a large field and has a strong 
force. The young people are numerous, bright and 
active. 

There is no country church in my knowing that has 
a better history, stronger elements in the present and 
greater hopes for the future. This church has given 
to the world such preachers as G. L. Black, Henry 
Burnham, John and Henry Cheavens, Charlie Bullard 
and others who have made good. It has in its young 
membership now, some who are heading that way. No 
better people on earth ; none more loyal than the Mar- 
tins, Christians, Sapps, Sappingtons, and Nichols, who 
compose such a large proportion of its membership. 
It is a joy to serve such a church and community. 

Huntsdale church is one of the young members of 
our family of churches. It is a promising youth ; has 
a good church house and rich country around it and 



Back in Old Missouri. 227 

2l fine field in which to work. With its membership 
of about seventy, to work this field, good results ought 
to be reached. The community in which this church 
is located is more noticed in some particulars than 
any community of which I ever heard or read. There 
are more resident old people and more widows in 
Huntsdale than in any other place on earth of the 
same area. My attention having been called to this 
matter, I took it upon myself to investigate. I was 
amazed at the disclosure. When the investigation was 
over the fact was revealed that there were fifteen per- 
sons in the village and vicinity whose ages aggregated 
twelve hundred years. The other remarkable feature 
is entirely out of line with what I have just stated. 
There are more "kids" in Huntsdale and immediate 
vicinity than in any other place on earth of the same 
area. In my rounds one day, I rounded up three sets 
of twins by noon, and on going to church that night 
I found pieces of three more sets. There are several 
townships yet to hear from. That place claims the 
honors, when it comes to corn and kids. A strong 
membership with a commodious house of worship is 
absolutely essential in that community to take care of 
the oncoming generations. There are possibilities at 
Huntsdale, which if properly looked after, will amply 
reward all the efforts that its friends put forth to make 
it what it should be. 

These three points, all within easy reach of me, give 
me all the work I have time and strength to do. At 
my age I feel that it is about the last work of the kind, 



228 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

that I shall do. I am fortunate as an old man to be in 
a field that bears with my infirmities, and gives me 
such cordial support. I try to keep young in heart 
and soul and to keep in sympathetic touch with all that 
is going on that is helpful. When the time comes to 
go on the shelf I hope to have a shelf to go on with 
a good soft pillow and good warm covering in a good 
comfortable place, with an open window toward sun- 
set. 



CHAPTER XXII 
Some Thoughts on Preaching and Preachers. 

In the beginning of my ministry I had my ideal 
and have all along tried to reach it, but am far below 
it both as to preaching and preacher. I still believe, 
however, that it is attainable and every preacher ought 
to strive for it. My failure has not led me to lower 
the standard. 

I regard preaching as being the main business of the 
preacher. It is the chief function of his office. He 
may be pastor, teacher or evangelist, but in each of 
these he is primarily preacher and the duties of each, 
grow naturally out of his office as preacher. If a 
preacher cannot preach, he has missed his calling. 

The religion of Jesus Christ is the only religion that 
has made provision for the regular and frequent as- 
sembling of the masses to hear preaching. It provides 
a regular day for it, calls the people together to hear 
it and furnishes preachers to do it. This is 
the divinely appointed means for spreading the 
good tidings of salvation. From the time when 
John the Baptist drew large crowds into the wilderness 
and stirred the heart with his startling utterances, un- 
til now, there has been no great religious movement, 
no restoration of Bible truth and real piety without 
preaching — words spoken to men and women. Noth- 

229 



230 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

ing in the divine arrangement can take the place of 
this. The press is a power for good, but is not as 
mighty as the pulpit was intended to be. Religious 
ceremonies are instructive, but these can only present 
to the eye, in picture, the truth presented to the ear 
by the preacher in his preaching. 

When this light goes out, the world is soon in dark- 
ness. Stars may twinkle and an occasional meteor 
may blaze and dazzle, but in the absence of this divine- 
ly appointed medium of light, gross darkness wraps 
the people and vice and immorality mark the period. 

The preacher must preach the Gospel. "Preach the 
Word." "Preach the Gospel to every Creature. " "That 
Repentance and Remission of Sins Should be Preached 
in His Name Among All Nations Beginning at Jeru- 
salem." "They went everywhere preaching the Word." 

Other things need to be done, but there are others 
to do them; other things ought to be said, but there 
are others to say them. "Go Thou and Preach the Gos- 
pel." 

The courier, dashing across the battlefield, carrying 
an important message, must not stop to care for the 
wounded nor bury the dead. Man is an intelligent be- 
ing and in becoming a christian he must act intelligent- 
ly; therefore he must be taught. 

So Christianity has its text book and its teachers; 
its proclamation and its proclaimers; its message and 
its messengers. Its message, its proclamation, its 
teaching has to do with salvation. 



Some Thoughts on Preaching and Preachers. 231 

The religion of Jesus Christ is radically different 
from all other religions in that it is the religion of sal- 
vation. While it furnishes the source and inspiration 
of all that is noble in character and conduct, in art, 
literature, culture and civilization, these are incidental 
and secondary to its main purpose — the salvation of 
sinners. 

"Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall 
save His people from their sins" was the language of 
the angel thus outlining the mission of Jesus Christ. 

"The Son of Man is come to seek and save that 
which was lost" is the way the Master Himself put it. 

"Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners" 
is the way Paul expressed it. The cry of every human 
heart, when brought into a clear and full realization 
of its true condition and deepest need, is voiced by the 
jailor in his cry of agony and despair: "What must 
I do to be saved?" 

The Bible, everywhere, bases the entire Gospel sys- 
tem on the lost and helpless condition of the human 
race. Sin and salvation, life and death — these con- 
stitute the very marrow of divine teaching and aside 
from these, the Bible has no message of vital and para- 
mount importance to a human soul. The preaching, 
that leaves these out, might as well cease at once, for 
the absence of these, stamps that preaching with shal- 
lowness, hollowness, narrowness and weakness that 
foredoom it to failure. The preacher who has not 
learned that his supreme task is the salvation of the 



232 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

lost, through the grace and power attending his message 
has yet to learn the alphabet of preaching. 

Gospel preaching is designed, under God, to pro- 
mote spiritual ends primarily, and secular ends sec- 
ondarily. 

The world is to be brought into subjection to Christ, 
not by benevolence and philosophy, but by the Gospel 
faithfully preached ; not by reformation, but by regen- 
eration and salvation from sin. The fundamental 
theme, therefore for all Gospel preachers everywhere 
and for all times and conditions is, and ever must be: 
"The Gospel the power of God unto salvation." 

The object of Gospel preaching is not to save the 
world by reforming it, but to reform the world by sav- 
ing it. This makes divine grace and regenerating 
power fundamental. The evil condition of human na- 
ture and the resulting conditions of social, industrial 
and political life, are such as to be met and overcome 
by nothing short of God's remedial scheme, made 
known in and through the Gospel. Any other method 
by whomsoever suggested, adopted, or advocated, must 
deal only with symptoms and does not, and cannot 
touch the deep lying seat of the world's fatal malady. 

Before individual and social conditions can be made 
what they should be, two things are necessary : There 
must be a standard of absolute right and justice for 
the guidance of all. There must be, in addition to 
this, power to bring all up to this standard. The 
Gospel, alone, furnishes the perfect standard and it 



Some Thoughts on Preaching and Preachers. 233 

alone gives the necessary, transforming and uplifting 
power. 

In order to remove the various evils of society, the 
moral disorder of man's nature in which all these 
evils root themselves and in which they have their 
origin, must be properly dealt with. Education, aside 
from religion, can only develop what is naturally in 
man. Where men and women are made good, educa- 
tion makes them more powerful for good; where 
they are left bad, it only makes them more potent for 
evil. 

The preaching that is so popular in many places, 
ignores this fact and sidetracks and subverts Gospel 
preaching, and makes the preacher an apostle of social, 
industrial, civil and political reforms and activities. 
The duty of the Gospel minister, in relation to the 
working out of all these problems, is not to deny or 
ignore them, but to give himself up entirely to the work 
of regenerating men and women through the Gospel 
faithfully preached. This makes reform possible, 
practical, and absolutely certain because it produces 
christian character and conduct. 

In addition to bringing about personal regeneration 
and salvation, he must instruct and train the saved in 
the service of God. In doing this, men and women 
of ability and fitness become leaders and potent factors 
in all places where evil exists. Along lines of their 
various callings in life, these saved and trained ones, 
by applying the principles of the Gospel to life's ac- 
tivities, solve the problems of their respective spheres. 



234 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

In these days of complicated and complex prob- 
lems it is sheer folly for the Gospel preacher to attempt 
to make specific application of Gospel principles him- 
self, to all of these problems and relations in detail. 
The field is so vast that the preacher who seeks to 
cover it himself, must be content with giving it a very 
thin coating, and make up his mind to be turned 
aside from his God-given mission while doing it. 

The method of Christ and His apostles is the simple 
and only true and effective way of doing this. There 
were problems in their day. The rich were oppressing 
the poor; society was corrupt and bribery was com- 
mon. But the Gospel was preached and lived and it 
found its way into the heart and life of men and 
women and brought forth the fruits of righteousness. 
The saved applied Christianity to their stations and 
positions and a marvelous change was wrought in the 
heart, the home, the marts of trade and throughout 
the world. The same method as faithfully followed 
now as then, will produce the same results. There 
are to be found among professing christians to-day, 
lawyers, doctors, tradesmen and in fact, men and 
women representing all honorable callings and posi- 
tions. These have practical knowledge, brain power 
and personal influence among their fellows. If they 
hear preaching that fixes in their minds and hearts the 
principles of right being and right doing, such as the 
Gospel alone furnishes and which are designed to con- 
trol in all the relations in life, they, having a knowledge 
of the various spheres and activities of life and being 



Some Thoughts on Preaching and Preachers. 235 

in possession of the personal qualifications for religious 
work that a knowledge of God and his Word and a 
knowledge of men and the affairs of men furnish, 
will do the work better and do it quicker than the 
preachers will do it. 

Make a christian of Wm. E. Gladstone and you will 
do more for England, Ireland and for the world than 
you can ever do by preaching politics, civil and po- 
litical reforms, or by seeking a place in parliament or 
in the House of Lords. 

Let the preacher in his message to men furnish the 
moral and spiritual instruction that is needed to en- 
large human vision and to exalt christian ideals and 
character and he will exert an untold influence in right- 
ing wrongs that exist. 

Convert the capitalist and the laborer to the religion 
of Christ, lead them to Bible views of brotherhood 
and to Christ-like sacrifices for each other and there 
will be no war between capital and labor. Get into 
these men an inward principle that works itself out 
in the christian life and each, in his own sphere, will 
be helpful to the other. 

Convert politicians and you have changed politics. 
Bring the voter to see and realize his duty to God and 
Caesar and you have purified the ballot box. Fail to 
do this and evil men will continue to stuff the ballot 
box, or knock the stuffing out of it. 

Turn the Gospel hose on men and women in society 
and cleanse them and you have purified and elevated 
social life. Fail to do this and you had as well try 



236 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

to cleanse a fountain by casting chemicals into the 
stream, or to cure an internal cancer by applying a 
poultice or a plaster to the hands or feet. 

There are two methods of preaching. One presses 
the Gospel, as a saving power, upon men and women, 
aiming at their regeneration, seeking to bring about a 
better life, by implanting a new life principle, that 
builds up after its own kind, and causes spontaneous 
conformity to the will of God. The other dwells large- 
ly upon social, industrial, civic and political conditions 
and questions, and seeks to lay down rules that shall 
cover and control the entire range of human activity. 
Of the success of the first and failure of the second, 
we have an illustration in the preaching of Dr. Chal- 
mers of Scotland. He was a learned and eloquent 
man. When at the zenith of his popularity, he devoted 
twelve years to the task of trying to improve con- 
ditions by making men better through secular motives. 
He discoursed on "The meanness of dishonesty." "The 
Villainy of Falsehood," and kindred subjects. He 
summed up the results of these comparatively wasted 
years in these words: "I never heard of any such 
reformation having been effected; if there was any- 
thing at all brought about in this way, it is more 
than I ever got any account of. It was not until the 
free offer of forgiveness, through the blood of Jesus 
Christ was urged upon men, that I ever heard of any 
of these subordinate reformations." 

The law of the pulpit is, first, individual regenera- 
tion, and then, through the individual the reformation 



Some Thoughts on Preaching and Preachers. 237 

of every condition that needs it. All reformation, not 
bottomed on regeneration is deformation. 

God's method is to reach the circumference from the 
center; man's method is to reach the center from the 
circumference. 

The preaching that brings about the results mention- 
ed, must have much of God in it ; who He is, what He 
has done for us and what He has promised to do. 

In order to reverence and respect God, men must 
see God as He has revealed Himself in His works, 
His words and in Jesus Christ. Bible preaching will 
be permeated with Bible views of duty; His holiness, 
justice, love, mercy, wrath and goodness. The preach- 
ing that dwells upon divine wrath and justice, robs re- 
ligion of grace, beauty and tenderness. The preaching 
that knows only love and mercy, robs religion of its 
manly element and makes God a compound of senti- 
mentalism, effeminacy and unreasonable tenderness. 
God is merciful and just; he is good and severe. 

Another truth must be kept at the front ; what God 
requires of men. They need to be told that "getting 
on in the world" is not their supreme duty, but over- 
coming the world ; not to make a living, but a life worth 
living; not to get to heaven when they die, but to 
bring heaven to earth while they live. Men must be 
told that no one can be on easy and intimate terms 
with God who ignores or rejects Jesus Christ. A life 
of obedience to God begins with turning from sin and 
turning to God who meets, pardons, renews and saves 
in and through Jesus Christ. To reject Jesus Christ 



238 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

is to spurn the love, mercy, wisdom, goodness and 
grace of God, so vividly portrayed in His unspeakable 
gift. 

The world needs to be told that the only way to be 
on friendly terms with Jesus Christ is to heartily accept 
Him as Prophet, Priest and King, and then lovingly, 
loyally and implicitly obey His commands. He is Lord 
and King as truly as He is Savior and saves only such 
as submit to His Kingly rule and authority. 

These are old truths, but people need to hear them 
and preachers are the ones to tell them. The news- 
papers, the magazines, the professors, are busy with 
"new truths" and "new theories." They are calling 
attention to the death of great men ; to earthquakes ; 
the burning of cities and the sinking of ships. Cur- 
rent events and the twentieth century Gospel, with all 
that has been enumerated left out, or so nearly so 
that four thousand tons of it would not raise a soul 
one inch toward God, heaven, or a holy life. But the 
preacher wanting to tell all of this truth and to tell 
it to all, will have enough to tax his brain, stir his 
heart and exhaust his powers of speech. 

Having examined the work to be done, the question 
arises : What kind of workman is required to do this 
work, and what are the furnishings that will best fit 
the workman for this difficult and responsible task? 

There must, first of all, be a man. "There was a 
man sent from God whose name was John." He must 
be a man before he is a minister, and the making of 



Some Thoughts on Preaching and Preachers. 239 

the minister does not unmake the man. Where the 
man is lacking, there is no foundation for the minister. 

The minister is not always considered a man. With 
some he is placed above ordinary mortals, about half 
way between God and men so that people must come 
to God through him. He is a kind of demi-god, in 
fancy, but a demagogue in fact. Not only has this idea 
prevailed among Catholics, but among others as well, 
though not in so marked a degree. There must have 
been a feeling of this kind in the breast of the man 
who invented the old time martin-box pulpit, for the 
preacher, which placed him away above the heads of 
the people, as if he had just come down from heaven 
and only waited for the services to close when he 
would return thither. And even now we have evi- 
dences of the fact that this idea remains with many, 
that the minister is above the man, a kind of cross 
between a man and an angel, so divine as to be "wor- 
shipped." The tendency of human nature to lavish 
its affections upon material objects, as crocodiles, the 
sun, idols of wood and stone, dead ancestors, saints, 
the Virgin Mary, etc., crops out here. The minister 
may be enthroned instead of God. 

But look at the minister. He looks like a man. He 
is flesh and blood and bone like other men. He has 
been born again but his new birth was spiritual, not 
physical. He has been called of God into the ministry, 
but his call did not take him from his manhood, nor 
his manhood from him. He is and must ever be, a 
man, with all the essential elements of a man ; a man 



240 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

among men, and must not put himself on a lofty 
pedestal of false dignity, nor encourage others in doing 
so, but stand upon the plane of real manhood, a living, 
loving, breathing, moving, sympathizing man among 
his fellows. 

Ring out the demi-god, the semi-angel, the priest, 
and ring in the true man. The call of the twentieth 
century is what the true call of the first and every 
other century has been ; a call for men in the ministry. 
Not monkeys, nor mollusks, nor mastodons, but true 
men; men of conviction, men of courage, and of 
staunch, sterling, integrity and a high sense of honor 
and honesty. If these elements of a noble, true and 
high type of manhood are lacking, no amount of good 
looks, good apparel, eloquence, learning or personal 
magnetism can make up this deficit, for in spite of all 
this, that lack of manhood in the guise and garb of 
minister will take from the man the respect and con- 
fidence of the people and leave his ministry without 
power for good, and make the minister the decoy duck 
of the devil. Harness cannot take the place of horse ; 
neither can masks and make-ups take the place of man- 
hood. 

So much for the man ; now his furnishings. Some- 
thing more than true manhood is necessary in order 
to an efficient ministry. A gun, though perfect in 
composition and workmanship, is ineffective without 
powder and projectile. A horse, though a thorough- 
bred in style and action is worthless without harness 
and training in it. As his work is preaching, he must 



Some Thoughts on Preaching and Preachers. 241 

be equipped for the pulpit and his power must be at 
high tide there. Everywhere, "knowledge is power." 
Along all lines, the world listens to the man "who 
knows." The pulpit is no exception. The strong man 
in the pulpit is the man who knows. 

There must be a knowledge of the Bible. This he 
is to teach and apply and he must know it sufficiently 
to handle it skillfully. To know, he must study it, 
study it. It is not enough that he should know about 
the Bible, all around and all over the Bible, but all 
through it, going through book after book, chapter 
after chapter and verse after verse, thus getting the 
connected and complete thought of God. This method 
makes a master of the Bible, in its every book. Each 
book is understood in itself and in its relation to the 
entire collection of books. It should be studied gram- 
matically, logically, historically, poetically, and prayer- 
fully until it becomes to the minister what it really is, 
a living book, quick and powerful in its entire range of 
revealed truth. The preacher should not only know 
who wrote Genesis, but what is said in Genesis and' 
for what purpose, as that purpose is outlined in the 
writing. So of every other book in the Bible. The 
preacher who thus studies and loads himself, will bring 
his hearers to see the Word of God as it is in itself, 
and will thus furnish a complete refutation of all argu- 
ments and objections that are filed against it. Men will 
neglect the Bible or object to it, as long as the pulpit 
gives but little real knowledge of it. Let every pulpit 
be a reservoir from which there is constantly flowing 
16 



242 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

a pure stream of Bible truth and there will be no 
perishing of the people for lack of knowledge. 

Preachers are receiving large doses of advice from 
many quarters just now concerning the twentieth cen- 
tury sermon" and the special equipment for it. We 
have a fair sample in this : "Reduce, to a minimum the 
study of Hebrew and Greek texts and worn out 
courses that have relatively no claim to educational 
value in the light of modern thought. Substitute for 
these, thorough training in the foundations of physi- 
cal and biological sciences ; in sociology culminating in 
the new psychology." There you have it ! Substitute 
for a knowledge of the Bible, these "ologies" and 
when that is done the preacher is as helpless as a babe. 
These sciences aside from the Bible and independent 
of it, know nothing of the new life and the forgive- 
ness of sin. I lay down by the side of this "up to 
date" advice, telling us to preach biology, sociology 
and psychology, the advice of the world's greatest 
preacher, when he said to a young preacher: "Preach 
the Word." 

In addition to a knowledge of the Bible there must 
be faith in it as God's revelation to men. 

The preacher who doubts the Bible and preaches 
his doubts will never lead men to adopt it as the 
man of their counsel. 

The ministry is shorn of its power when doubt and 
quibble take the place of faith and emphatic declara- 
tion. Doubt cannot be constructive. It never builds 
anything, does anything or goes anywhere. A man who 



Some Thoughts on Preaching and Preachers. 243 

preaches what he does not believe, may substitute for 
faith, beautiful, misty, mystical, moonshiny words, but 
such will never be "the power of God unto salvation." 
Moonlit banks of fog will never melt the snow and ice 
in sinful hearts nor burn the rubbish in wicked lives. 

"No man can do faithfully, who does not believe 
firmly." All the great men living and dead are and 
were men who believed strongly. Go up the line until 
you come to the greatest of earth's heroes and as you 
look upon him with his soul aflame and' his heart on 
fire he shouts : "I know in whom I have believed." 
Instead of doubt and uncertainty showing breadth of 
culture and depth of thought they, most generally, 
show flabbiness of mind and coldness of heart. 

The sword of the spirit must not be taken hold of 
gingerly with finger tips as if we did not know whether 
it is made of down or of steel and were in doubt as to 
what to do with it ; but it is to be gripped with all the 
power of head, hand and heart and then we are to 
strike with all our might. 

In conclusion, let me say a word about the sermon. 
It should be carefully prepared. The text or theme 
having been chosen, then let it be thought out thor- 
oughly. A knowledge of the Bible, of history, of 
science, of nature, of men, of everything you know 
will be drawn upon to set truth before the people ; to 
illustrate it and to enforce it. God cannot be depend- 
ed upon to do this work. He can be depended upon 
to do His part, but not yours. The preacher who does 
not make the best preparation in his power, is not 



244 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

ready to trust God, for he is a sinner in this matter 
and owes to God a confession and to his hearers an 
apology. 

Having prepared his sermon, then let him seek a 
prepared heart. This is the power that is to hurl the 
projectile of truth. The truth coming from a cold, 
indifferent mind and heart will fall like bits of ice on 
chilled hearers. 

God's ministers are "flames of fire" and He fur- 
nishes the fire, but the minister must furnish the fuel. 
If there is nothing but breath, wind and air, God has 
not promised to heat that. "Hot air" in the pulpit is a 
human product. But a warm, loving heart, a Christ- 
like spirit, a burning zeal ; these are God's finger-prints 
on the soul and are prophecies of successful seed sow- 
ing. 

Given a true man of God, loaded with Bible truth, 
carefully thought out, earnestly delivered and aimed at 
the glory of God in the salvation of lost men and 
women, then God can be trusted for results. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
Beginnings. 

It is interesting to study beginnings. I have seen a 
blank book gotten out for the comfort and pleasure of 
parents. This book was called "Baby's Book." It 
was designed to contain the first things in baby's life. 
"Birth," the "first word," "first step," "first tooth." 
All had a place in this record. In point of useful in- 
formation this book ranks next to the Bible. I have 
tabulated in memory some first things that I enjoy 
thinking over. The mention of these may be interest- 
ing to my friends. 

My First Sermon. 

It was not a real sermon, of course, but the occa- 
sion called for a sermon and I had to imitate the 
preacher in action as far as I could. The effort was 
not lost on the brother who was instrumental in getting 
me before the people, for I met him in St. Louis, a 
few years ago, at the Southern Baptist Convention 
and he told me that he was the guilty man and told 
me what my text was: "The wicked shall be turned 
into hell with all the nations that forget God." He 
said that I gave them what the text called for. I told 
him that nearly all who heard that sermon died and 
that it would get him yet. Sure enough the poor 
brother has died since I made that remark. My inter- 

245 



246 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

view with him brought the event vividly to my mind 
again. A meeting was in progress at Gilead church 
in Hart county, Kentucky, with the pastor James G. 
Hardy as preacher. It was one of the old-fashioned, 
clod-melting drift-moving kind. The pastor had used 
me several times in praying and talking to penitents 
and in "lining hymns." One night, he announced, at 
the close of the service, that "brother G. W. Hatcher 
will preach here to-morrow at eleven o'clock." He had 
not asked me to do this, but just used his God-given 
authority as a Baptist preacher. When this announce- 
ment was made it shook me up and flattened me out as 
no clap of thunder ever did. It dazed and stunned 
me as no flash of lightning had ever done. I put my 
wits to work, at once to checkmate that move. My 
plan was to be late at that service. I knew this was 
Baptistic and I thought he would not wait 
for me and I would get there about the time 
he was in full swing. (I was mistaken here for he was 
later than I was) But in the event that my plan should 
miscarry, I thought it best to be prepared. "Prepared- 
ness" has been a big proposition with me all my life. 
About all the preparation I could make on so short a 
notice was to select a text and I chose the one already 
mentioned. If I "gave them what the text called for," 
I am to be complimented and congratulated on my 
first effort at preaching in the fact that my effort was 
"expository," the very best kind of preaching. 



Beginnings. 247 



My First Pay for Preaching. 

Preachers are. not supposed to preach for money 
and if they did not, many of them would be stimulated 
by their first earnings. But I was an exception. I 
was invited by the brethren at Norborne in Carroll 
county, Missouri, to fill an appointment there. The 
day was set. I borrowed a horse and a sermon and 
went about nine miles. I found an unfinished house, 
unplastered and seated with boards. I preached. We 
had a good time. They looked at me as though they 
did not expect me to do much and verily they were 
not disappointed. I have always had the notion that 
it was an awful thing for a preacher to disappoint his 
audience. My looks, bearing and other natural equip- 
ments, have all been in my favor in leading my hearers 
not to expect very much. 

I went home with Brother Joseph Oatman for din- 
ner. He and his dear wife entertained me royally. 
They so fed me and encouraged me that I wanted to 
live with them. But duty took me away. The time 
came to start. I shook hands with her and then 
mounted my horse. I then took Brother Oatman's 
hand. He gave me a warm grasp and a hearty shake. 
But I felt something that was not hand. It was soft 
and velvety. When I let go his hand, somehow, this 
substance stuck to my hand and I wiped it off in my 
pocket. I went away at a swift trot, which jolted me 
considerably but I had my mind on my pocket and not 
upon my jolts. The town of Norborne was bigger to 



248 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

me that day than ever before or since. The streets 
seemed to be unending. It looked like I would never 
get out of town. I bumped up and down on that trot- 
ting horse with my hand on my pocket until my 
patience was almost exhausted. At last I was reward- 
ed by reaching the town limit, where I could safely 
and prudently investigate my pocket. Feeling 
my way carefully into its deep, dark depths, 
I found that velvety treasure and anxiously and 
nervously brought it up and out into the sun- 
light. I took a good square look at it. I smoothed 
it out. I turned it over, to see if the same figures 
were on both sides. I looked again. No, I was not 
mistaken. It was a five dollar bill. My fortune was 
made. If my "efforts" were selling at five dollars 
per "eff" then, what would they command when I 
reached the point where I could really preach without 
such an effort. I have received larger amounts since 
then for service rendered, but never have I received 
a remuneration, that looked as big as that five dollar 
bill did that day to me. I don't think preaching ever 
reached a higher point in the market than that sermon 
reached when quantity and quality are both taken into 
consideration. 

My First Protracted Meeting. 

When I came to Missouri, preachers were scarce 
and churches were far apart. Rev. C. C. Bullock was 
pastor of the Baptist church that worshipped in the old 
"Moss Creek" church house which was a "union" 



Beginnings. 249 

house. I was sent by the Missouri Valley Association 
Board to assist him in a meeting at that place. I 
reached the place on Monday morning. He was 
preaching when I entered the building. I took a seat 
near the door. When he closed his remarks he an- 
nounced my presence, spoke very kindly of me and in- 
vited me to come forward and let him introduce me 
to his people. I went, but tremblingly. The people 
were very cordial in their greetings. They were most- 
ly from Kentucky and Virginia and I felt like I was 
among my kind. While pastor and people were talk- 
ing and planning with reference to the meeting, I 
walked out into the yard. I was enjoying the shade, 
grass and general appearance of the country, when an 
aged man walked up to me, walked around me and 
looked me over as carefully as he would have examined 
a colt or a calf. He then stepped back a little, 
squared himself right in front of me, looked me 
squarely in the face, turned his head one side, squint- 
ed up one eye and said : "Well, sir if I had started out 
to shoot a preacher, I never would have busted a cap 
at you." That man was David Hudson, who became 
one of my very best friends. 

This meeting was a heavy drain upon me. When 
I went into it, I had in stock only about six sermons 
which were much worn on account of hard service 
elsewhere. These sermons were on various subjects; 
had various divisions, consequently, varied from each 
other. 



250 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

By agreement, the pastor preached to "the church" 
at the morning service and I preached to "sinners" at 
night. For two weeks the battle was on. The pastor 
gave the saints heaven and I gave the sinners the other. 
I only had from one night until the next to load a 
shell. After I had fired my six loads, I put in all 
my time between shots, when not asleep, gathering 
powder and projectiles. There was a great deal of 
thunder and there must have been some lightning, 
for there were forty additions to the church and some 
of them are members to this day. The membership 
was increased from twenty to sixty in fourteen days. 
For this time I received two dollars per day. I thank- 
ed God and took courage. 

My First Wedding. 

Marriage services have always been embarrassing to 
me. They excite and unnerve me more than any 
service I have to perform. Experience has never en- 
tirely overcome it. The expectancy, the stillness, the 
coming in of the bridal party, the breaking of the 
awful silence by the minister's voice, the high tension 
that is on from start to finish, these things are ex- 
ceedingly trying on the nerves of the veteran to say 
nothing of the raw recruit. In addition to all of this, 
many things may happen that are so ludicrous as to 
be entirely out of line with the whole proceeding. I 
had heard of some of these. A brother preacher told 
me of a man whom he married and when he asked him, 
"Do you take this lady whom you hold by the hand 



Beginnings. 251 

to be your lawful wedded wife?" said, "Of course, I 
come a purpose." I heard of another who asked if 
"there was any one present who objected to the mar- 
riage," when a gentleman present said: "Yes, I do." 
When asked to state his objection, he said: "I want 
her myself." The minister said: "Why did you not 
take her?" to which he relied: "I could not get her." 
I thought of all these possibilities and the meditation 
did not strengthen me for the ordeal. 

In this my first wedding another element entered 
that made it much harder for me to master the situ- 
ation. The bride-to-be was a most charming woman. 
She was among my first lady acquaintances in Mis- 
souri. I thought a great deal of her myself. I thought 
she would suit me. She was old enough and so was 
I ; she was good looking and so was I. But I said 
nothing to her about it. Neither did she. One day 
a widower "hit the trail." The chase was a hot one. 
He lost no time in closing the deal and in due time, 
which was a short time, I was asked to tie the nuptial 
knot. I was knocked completely out; but I did my 
best to give them a good send off. I worked hard on 
my ceremony, and for fear I would not have it "pat" 
I practiced on the fence stakes along the highway. If 
that fence is standing to-day, I attribute it to the fact 
that the corners were joined by me in "holy wedlock." 

The trying day came. The day was hot and sultry. 
The parlor was crowded with guests. Every pore in 
my body stood wide open and from each perspira- 
tion streamed forth. I mopped until the mop seemed 



252 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

to be another pore indulging in an erruption. 
The couple appeared. I braced up, cleared my throat 
and spoke. My voice was unnatural. I could hardly 
believe it was mine. But I had to use it. With that 
highly keyed trembling, wabbling voice, I said the 
words that, in the eyes of the law, made that couple 
"man and wife." It was a "hard knot," but it 
answered the purpose for it has never "slipped." 

My First Baptizing. 

Knowing that some things had occurred in connec- 
tion with baptizings that were used to prejudice the 
mind against immersion, it was with some trepidation 
that I administered the ordinance for the first time. I 
wanted it done "decently and in order." The opportu- 
nity came to me at McCroskie's Creek church in Car- 
roll county, Missouri. To make my anxiety greater, 
I knew that at this place a very laughable thing had 
occurred while Uncle Mat Goodson was administering 
the ordinance. 

I had it from his own lips. He said, that at the 
close of a meeting held in this church a number were 
to be baptized and among them was an eccentric Ger- 
man. He was almost sure that something would 
happen when this brother's time came, so he put him 
off until the last. The preacher was standing in the 
stream and motioned to the German to come in. He 
started and every step he took he raised his foot clear 
up out of the water and sent it back with a "chug." 
Finally he reached a depth that interfered with this 



Beginnings. 253 

program and he then made a lunge for the parson. He 
was very much excited and wanted to know if there 
was any danger in this thing. The parson assured 
him that there was none if he would only give himself 
up to him. He repeated the words used and put him 
under, then raised him up. Just as soon as the Ger- 
man was straight up on his feet he broke loose from 
the preacher and rushed to the bank. When he reach- 
ed it, he stood in the margin of the water for a moment 
and shook himself like a dog would do on coming out 
of the water and said: "Whew, that is the coldest 
hole I was ever in." 

I did not know but that history would repeat itself 
when I was called into action, but nothing occurred to 
mar the solemnity and beauty of the occasion. Among 
my candidates I had a brother "Moon" and a sister 
"Winn." I congratulated myself over the fact that I 
baptized both the Moon and the Winn and did it order- 
ly, and wondered how I would make it if I was called 
upon to baptize the stars. 

My First Lecture. 

While I was pastor at Carrollton, Missouri, I was 
requested to lecture the ministerial students in William 
Jewel College. I was told that a lecture was expect- 
ed and not a sermon. I thought of the great Charles 
H. Spurgeon of London, who was invited to come to 
America and deliver a course of lectures. He de- 
clined, saying: "I am a preacher and not a lecturer." 
I was happy in the thought, that in one respect at least, 



254 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

I resembled this great preacher, I was not a lecturer. 
If I did not have any of his positive qualities, I re- 
joiced in having one of his negative features. 

I had been greatly prejudiced against the whole busi- 
ness of lecturing; not because I had done so much of 
it, but because I had been the recipient of so much of 
it. I guess I was an inviting subject, for in my early 
day, my father, mother and school teacher, all lectured 
me, and when I became a man, that was one "childish 
thing" I could not "put away." I went to college and 
about the first thing to which I was treated was a free 
lecture with a reserved seat. 

While in college it was my daily fare. When I went 
away, I carried with me, to ring in my ears daily, a 
farewell lecture. 

When I went into the ministry and took charge of 
churches, I found the woods full of lecturers. The 
brethren lectured ; the sister lectured me ; the deacons 
lectured me; ungodly sinners lectured me; in fact, I 
struck a Lecture Bureau in full operation. I found 
people who knew more about preaching than did the 
author of my text book on preaching. They knew 
more about knotty Bible questions than did my old 
professor in theology. 

He would sometimes say: "I do not know." But 
these fellows — never. They knew where Cain got his 
wife; they could tell you right off the bat, who Mel- 
chisedec was; they knew David's mother well, and 
could easily reconcile foreordination and free agency. 



Beginnings. 255 

I grew a little restless under the accumulating load 
and felt that unless I was reinforced, I would break 
down. I therefore started out to find reinforcement. 
I found a nice woman and we united. All of a sudden 
the lecturing business loomed up. I soon found my- 
self the subject of a new lecture. I had listened to 
lectures, theological, geological, physiological and psy- 
chological, but married life brought me face to face 
with the never to be forgotten or ignored "curtain lec- 
ture." 

This lecture made a deeper impression on my mind, 
than did any other and taught me, that after all, some 
lecturing is profitable and thus I caught my first in- 
spiration and made up my mind, to deliver, at some 
time a lecture. When this conclusion was reached, 
little did I think that my young brethren in the minis- 
try would be the unfortunate victims. 

I selected as my subject "Snags." I called attention 
to some "snags" which they w r ould find in the stream 
of their ministerial life and told them what to do in 
such an emergency; not to try to "run over them," 
nor "saw them off," but "tie to them." The years have 
passed and I find men in the ministry to-day who 
thank me for what I said in that lecture. 

In all these "beginnings" I trust there were seed 
that will vield a rich harvest. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
Endings. 

Here I reach the last chapter. For more than four 
years I have hit this old Hatcher trail, in company 
with myself and have enjoyed looking again upon 
familiar places and people, pointing out to my friends, 
who may read what I have written, the things in my 
life that are interesting to me. The journey has been 
long, but the scenery has been so shifting and so varied 
as to lead me to continue it. There is always more 
obscurity in the endings than in the beginnings, for 
our hindsight is so much better than our foresight. I 
can look back across the stretch of these nearly "three 
score years and ten" and see things, with my mental 
eyes, as plainly as I see the objects around me. 

The end I cannot see. While I know that this 
pilgrimage will end, yet, I cannot tell when, where, 
nor how. I can only "watch and wait." I am glad 
to say that I am free from worry. I am in my own 
home and more pleasantly situated than I have ever 
been. My friends are all around me. I am sure I 
have made some enemies, but I look upon these as 
valuable assets. I did not try to make them, but having 
done so, I use them to the best possible advantage, 
and my conviction is that a few first class enemies 
prove to be about the best friends a fellow can have. 

256 



Endings. 257 

They gladly do some things that ought to be done that 
friends are loth to do. Friends dislike to correct or 
criticise. It is not agreeable to a friend to call the 
attention of another friend to his faults. This is the en- 
emies, long suit. The effect of fault finding and knock- 
ing is carefulness on the part of the subject. It makes 
one more guarded in what he says and more circum- 
spect in what he does, to feel that he is so closely 
watched. 

I have never lacked for friends tried and true. They 
have always come to my rescue when I needed help. 
I feel that I would be untrue to them and to myself, 
to sit and sulk and knock in the evening of my life. 
My observation and experience have both taught me 
that a horn is far more helpful in life than a hammer. 
Joshua and his hosts never could have battered down 
the walls of Jericho with hammers ; but these old 
walls did tumble to the racket of horns. If everybody 
would throw down hammers and take up horns the 
millennium would rush in upon the world. I believe in 
the old adage: "He that bloweth not his own horn, 
verily that man's horn shall not be tooted." My faith 
in this proposition fully explains the toot of my own 
horn in every page of this book. But others have 
horns, and we owe it to them to give their horns an 
occasional blast and not use all our wind on our own 
sails. 

I have had no occasion to become sour. My treat- 
ment at the hands of my brethren, my friends, my 
neighbors, my acquaintances and people in general has 
17 



258 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

been such as to sterilize my mind, heart and soul and 
prevent fermentation. Under the influence of their 
smiles, kind words and generous deeds, I have lived, 
all these years right out in the sunlight of prosperity 
without reaching the clabber stage. I am reaching the 
end of this book, but am sure that I am not nearing 
the point where human affections, sympathy and con- 
fidence will drop me. I do not believe that I shall 
ever see the end of these things ; for they were never 
based upon worth, or, merit in me but my imperfec- 
tions, my weaknesses, my shortcomings, appealed to 
men and women who were far better than I, and drew 
to me the warmth of their heart and the strength of 
their hand. 

My brethren have honored me with work and po- 
sitions of which I felt, that I was not worthy, but have 
always tried, as best I could, to do the work and fill 
the place. When I failed, it was for lack of power and 
not of purpose. There is no man, in all my knowledge 
of men, who owes a larger debt of gratitude to 
friends and humanity, at large than I do. I would like 
to live a thousand years, in order that I might, in 
some way, return a part of that, which has meant so 
much to me, to those who imparted it. 

I find this old world a mighty good world in which 
to live and am glad that I have been permitted to stay 
in it so long. I owed it far more when I came into 
it than it owed me and have not changed the place of 
debtor and creditor. I have had hills to climb, but 
from these hilltops I have caught glimpses of beautiful 



Endings. 259 

landscapes, that I never could have seen but for this 
elevation. I have gone down into canons and gorges, 
but from these dark depths I have looked up into the 
heavens above me to see light such as never shone on 
land or sea. I have had to carry heavy burdens but 
these have broadened my shoulders and brought me 
into closer touch with afflicted humanity. Dark days 
have come, but the darkness made the light that fol- 
lowed all the more brilliant. 

In material things I have been greatly blessed. I 
have never known what it is to go hungry because of 
lack of money to buy bread. Since I married, I 
always called on my wife and she nearly always had a 
"nest egg" that she would let me have. I have not 
grown rich in the ministry, but feel that I have been 
paid more than my preaching was worth, and getting 
what was due me was made to pay my expenses. 
When I earned a dollar, my rule was, to spend a dollar 
and not two. I have Hved within my income much or 
little. I have been fortunate in getting nearly all that 
was promised. In a ministry of nearly forty-five 
years, forty dollars will cover all that was promised 
that was not paid. I made no special effort to collect 
aside from ''working'' the deacons. When the church 
would "get behind" I would leave my wife at home, 
for her bright face and jolly soul interfered with 
my plan, and I would assume my saddest, gauntest 
look and with a weak voice, I would preach and pray 
and sing. It always worked. It would appeal to the 
pockets of the brethren. They would take me home 



260 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

with them and "fill me up" and "give me something to 
go upon." 

I am not only indebted to the brethren and friends, 
but to my Lord : "All to Him I owe." I have met all 
this kind treatment at the hands of men because they 
have thought that I belonged to the Master. I have 
used His credit. I have been received into homes, 
loved and cared for simply because I was looked upon 
as His servant. Men, who were not christians, re- 
spected me, on account of my professed relation to 
Him. All this kindness, love, sympathy, help, friend- 
ship, thoughtful attention, and hospitality has come to 
me from Him through human channels. 

His nailed pierced hand has led me, fed me, upheld 
me and preserved me. My greatest asset in life has 
been the name and power of Jesus of Nazareth. He 
has given whatever place I hold in the mind and 
heart of men and women and has enabled me to do 
what has been done and to become what I am. 

Under his guidance ancf blessing I am able to give 
this summary of results since April 28th, 1872: 

Sermons preached 6907 

Baptisms 1035 

Weddings 375 

Wedding fees $2,198.85 

The wedding fees were given over to my wife, and 
these enabled her to make loans to her husband. This 
summary of sermons does not include the preaching 
done prior to my ordination of which no record has 
been kept. 



Endings. 261 

I am now nearly seventy years old. My general 
health was never better. I am doing as much work, 
in my lines, as I ever did in my life. I did more 
preaching last year than in any one year for ten years, 
laboring in seven protracted meetings from July to 
December. How long I shall keep this up, God only 
knows. I want to work as long as I live, if it be His 
will. I want to be ready when the summons comes. 

With John Henry Newman I sing: 

"So long, Thy power hath blessed me, sure it will 

lead me on. 
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till the 

night is gone, 
And with the morn those angel faces smile 
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile." 

With the immortal Tennyson I pray: 
"Sunset and evening star 

And one clear call for me! 
And may there be no moaning at the bar 

When I put out to sea. 

But such a tide as moving seems asleep 

Too full for sound and foam, 
When that which drew from out the boundless deep 

Turns home again. 

Twilight and evening bell, 

And after that the dark. 
And may there be no sadness of fareivell 

When I embark. 



262 A Pilgrim and His Pilgrimage. 

For tho, from out our bourne of Time and Place 

The flood may bear me far 
I hope to see my Pilot face to face 

When I have crossed the bar. 

Columbia, Mo., June 29, 1916. 



INDEX 

Ancestry, Birth and Boyhood 11 

Starting to School 15 

On the Farm 20 

Conversion, Baptism and Church Membership .... 28 

Must I Preach ? 37 

During the War 41 

In the School of the Prophets 46 

Westward Ho ! 51 

Entering the Ministry 56 

Taking Charge of Country Churches 60 

My Field and My Force 71 

A Village Preacher 94 

A Town Preacher 110 

A Town Preacher in a Bigger Town 129 

A City Preacher 143 

Pastor in a University and College Town 151 

A District Missionary 174 

Back to Carrollton 181 

In Long Beach, California 188 

In Canon City, Colorado 212 

Back in Old Missouri 222 

Some Thoughts on Preaching and Preachers 229 

Beginnings 24? 

Endings 256 

263 



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